This is the first of a new way of doing things. You will get a teaser in your inbox and the announcements but the newsletter will be here where it belongs. Given I have sent ou the teaser I won't repeat that here this issue as I really want some feedback on this idea.

Otherwise, it's a sad goodbye to Koontz1973 who has given 50 issues of sterling service to us. He will be sorely missed and Seamus is all alone so some more writers please step up!

Otherwise, it's a pleasure to bring you this fantastic edition of the Dispatch.

In the words of Thomas A. Edison:

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

So far jonty is the only one to submit game numbers for April's challenge. Please remember if you participated in the challenge to post your game numbers in the thread.

The prize for all those that participated is this:

May's Challenge has already begun and it is the Presidential Ouster Challenge. The president of Madagascar is contesting election results which lead to his ouster. To recognize this, we are having 6-Player Terminator games on the Madagascar map with all settings allowed (except low round limits).

Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information, Mafia and You, and Rules and Terms of Mafia.Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.

What is "Mafia"?Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.

Mafia NewsWith finals and projects for many players, Ending Island Mafia is the only active game. Take a quick peek as the game is just starting.

Mafia CalloutsCalling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling:

Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5A movie inspired role is discussed here.

The Gladiator

What is It?The Gladiator is a role which is usually one-shot. During any day phase, the player may declare that they will Challenge another player. All votes reset and people can only vote for one of two players: The Gladiator, and the target.

ExampleAlice is a Gladiator and challenges Bob. Everyone can only vote for Alice or Bob during this day phase.

How to Play this RoleThe Gladiator usually must declare the challenge reasonably early in the day to avoid forced lynch scenarios. Usually a Town role, it's important for the player to be certain that the target is a mafia player. If it's a town player, it not only gives mafia a free lynch, it also tends to stifle other leads and voting patterns that otherwise could be gained during the day.

Great question to start out with! Yes and no. IRL people can’t hide behind avatars. So what I would say is that I am capable of being angry IRL all the time, but I usually don’t have to be. There is a certain level of respect I am treated with IRL that is lacking on CC sometimes. As a Moderator I am sure you can appreciate this. With the exception of Admin and C&A I don’t think any other type of Moderator has to put up with as much as we do as CDs. Additionally, how often as a chatter do you get attacked by a TD or a MH…in public for doing your job? Happens to us CDs all the time. Tough to set guidelines for regular players when fellow Team CC’ers ignore them at their whim. So when this respect isn’t there, it frustrates me for sure which leads to the assumption that I am angry. So I guess, no I am not angry all the time IRL.

Q. How did you enjoy or not enjoy your time under my leadership of the CD team?

I enjoyed it very much. It is unfortunate that we will not get to enjoy the fruits of your labors going forward. The CCup will be a success. Of this I have no doubt. Unfortunately, it appears, someone had to take the bullet. As a leader, you did just that. Not sure what else you can ask for from a boss? In the future I think those who know what you did for clans will look back at your reign and judge it a success. You will also get the credit/blame for CDF! If it becomes CLA v2.0 I know I am going to blame you! But, the verdict is still out on that group. We will have to see how it evolves.

Q. If you could have one update tomorrow, what would it be and why?

SITTING FEATURE! Personally, I have always been insulted that no one has ever call me out for an account sitting violation… they probably figure me playing the turns gives them an advantage! Can you imagine players thinking that you are SO GOOD that if you took all your team’s turns it would put them at a disadvantage? I guess no one wants to play FOUR CoFs! In all seriousness though, jpcloet (the primary reason we have a “clan world”) gave up his job over sitting issues. We just drafted a set of rules to cover sitting in clans so it is clearly still a front issue. Do I think it will ever happen? Nope. So given that there isn’t much chance of this update, perhaps we could just get our expanded clan medals so I can give TheCrown and the other past and current members of TNC a medal sometime. Some of them have at least 5-10 stored medals that the system won’t allow me to issue.

Q. When will you remove my (smegal69) Medal?

Never. Oh, and yes I can. With the click of a button.

Q. Should clan wars have a lot more smack talk in them, as it is a war and not some kind of hippie hugs fest?

Clan wars should be knockdown, smack-talk fests! That is, clan war THREADS should be peppered with all kinds of smack talk. The general clan forum, the join/create a clan forum, and most other threads that are not clan war related should be treated as normal threads. Now, I will say this, in my 2.5 years as a CD only ONE player has ever been “site punished” for something said, posted, or done in a clan war thread. Players hit that little upside-down triangle thingy all the time in clans. Those are always looked at, but never usually acted on. But again, there is only ONE I can think of that ever went higher than the CDs. My general rule is if it does not offend my version of the lowest form of human dignity (a very high bar) then the content is okay. However, just for instance mind you, a picture with a mammal stroking another mammal’s erect penis is a little bit much, but when you put a nametag on the stroker that corresponds to a current CC player…that crosses even my line! So make the war threads as hostile as you want, but follow two general rules (1) if what you put in there would make the average person gag, leave it out and (2) don’t mock the Moderators. Most likely, if we post in your war thread, someone has complained and so we are just trying cool things down for a bit. When the next post is a post quoting our post with a disrespectful comment…well, that is when clans lose medals…

Q. Ass or breast man?

Definitely breasts.

Q. How awesome was it when one player and his multies beat an entire clan?

Well, when we (++The Legion++) lost to you and your multies by 30 games it hurt pretty fucking bad! But still, pretty awesome.

Q. How have you managed to sustain your interest in CC?

Easy. I love my clan, ++The Legion++. If I were just logging on every day and taking turns with anonymous partners or as a loner in standard play games, I’m pretty sure I would have stopped playing years ago. But the camaraderie of my clanmates and the intensity of the rolls in meaningful clan games keep me coming back for more. [Or, if you prefer, the massive power trip I get from being a CD…muahahahahaha]

Q. What kind of attorney are you? I (danryan) imagine you chasing ambulances at top speed, desperately trying to finish your cc turns on your laptop between clients.

Hehe. I am primarily a trial attorney. But my areas of specialty are business and tax. So I do a lot of contract litigation and work in the United States Tax Court. However, back in the day before I became my own boss, I did chase an ambulance or two! These days though, our firm is pretty tech-heavy. So I have a Mac Mini at home attached to big television for a monitor. I have a similar set-up in my office. I also have a MacBook, Ipad, and Iphone. And, of course, everything that can load Firefox with BOB and clickable maps has it loaded! So I would say I am at or around a computer about 18 hours a day…and I play CC whenever I can. Hell, I have posted during a break in court before and I play a lot while I am defending depositions (Yawn)! My ambulance chasing days ended before I joined CC.

Q. What makes you want to continue when everyone gives you so much crap about the great service you do for CC?

Well, first, thank you for noticing (the great service, not the crap!) Honestly, I really don’t notice the crap anymore. You get so used to it that you just let it roll right by you. Also I often have to make sure to remind myself that it is just an online game where people roll imaginary attacker cubes! The main reason I continue is my clan. So the better environment I can curate for my clan, the better it will be for my clan. I feel that the clan world is better with me, than without me. Probably a bit egotistical, but I think overall this is the truth. At least, this is the thought that keeps me going during the dark times!

Q. What would be one thing you've done in your position you might wish to reconsider or do over how it was handled?

I’ve noodled this question for a while and I can’t think of any one big thing (or mistake) that I would reconsider. A lot of stuff has happened in 2.5 years. I think there have been some rocky transitions from time to time, but I think the clan world always got to where we envisioned it would (and should) go. Now, on a daily basis, I think that I have become a bit jaded with some players that I call “the usual posters” (the “ups” or “tups”). I wish there was a way to reset my relationship with (some of) these players and see if it is as bad as I really think it is. So I would say that if I were to reconsider anything it would be whether these players actually deserve the sharp side of my tongue every time they post. Additionally, I guess, I would have taken up CCup3 when chuuuuck went awol. I was just too busy in RL to do it correctly. In hindsight, it is clear that it would have avoided a lot of unpleasantness that followed had the CDs just done it from the jump. But, alas, Dako came in (and did a great job) and the rest is history.

Q. What do you think about leehar taking over the clan section?

Well, I hate the circumstances. But there is nothing we can do about it. I think Leehar will do and has been doing a great job as the Head CD. I’m looking forward to working with him for a long time.

Q. Were you offered the position first?

No. The Head CD position has never been offered to me.

Q. Are you pissed off because you do the main part of work issuing medals sorting out clan wars etc and were overlooked for the head cd after your long time service to that department?

I wouldn’t say, “overlooked”. I would say that when jpcloet left and when Masli left Admin made it clear that they wanted to promote from a high level within Team CC. Both Masli and Bruceswar had held positions within Team CC that granted them higher (more) access than I had. Also, Andy and I got along pretty well. So he politically (and correctly) mentioned to me that I am just a fucking lightning rod and they didn’t see it as a rational course of action to promote me. I didn’t disagree. When Bruceswar was “removed?” the CDs actually huddled on Skype and discussed what we thought we should do. Everyone asked everyone else if they wanted to be an option and I declined. We then decided that Leehar would be great and he was willing to take the position. Admin agreed, and there you go. So, “overlooked” is not really accurate in this situation. And no, I am not pissed off about anything with regards to my treatment in any of these situations. I have been lucky to work under great Head CDs and to work with a dedicated and talented group of people for 2.5 years. I have also been able to stay out of the crosshairs to some degree, which is a luxury the Head CD does not have.

Q. How much time do you spend on CC a day?

Well, I am able to play pretty much anytime due to my virtually unlimited access to a computer/tablet/phone. I would say that I actually spend 5-6 hours a day somewhat paying attention to CC. Whether it be playing my games, arranging games for my clan, or CD stuff (medals, moderating, etc.)

Q. Do you still have goals you'd like to reach?

I tried to get excited about medals. I did. But I just couldn’t. I hate freestyle and trench is an absolute abomination. So there are medals I have no intention of ever getting. I would like to see ++The Legion++ climb its way back into the top 10. I remember back in the day when we had a long string of clan war victories…man, that felt good! It would be nice to get back to that level.

Q. How do you think CC and clans will evolve within...2-3 years?

The CC one is hard to answer. I’m hoping there are never ads for paying customers. Other than that, there will be new maps, changes to old maps, new settings that we never even thought of, and on and on. Should be fun to watch CC evolve. The clans one is even harder to answer. I think we are going to see a lot more automation when it comes to privileges, medals, etc. Which should be really nice. I think clan wars will stay basically clan wars and I think the current League and CCup setup are here to stay. Oh, and maybe someday we will get our very own tab! Other than that, I really don’t see much happening in the short-term.

Q. How many clans do you foresee battling it out for clan dominance in 2-3 years?

As most of you know, I have fought hard to avoid any elitist tilt when it comes to the clan world. My biggest fear is that the top clans will just schedule clan wars between themselves from here to eternity. There is nothing any of us can do to stop them from doing it. And, it has come closer to happening than most people think. What would happen in this scenario is that in order to play the top clans, you would have to join one of the top clans to do so. This would create a power vacuum that would, in my opinion, kill clans on CC. Now, to your question, I don’t think there will ever be more than 50 (give or take a few) clans. The trend has been that some new clans fail, some old clans go social, some clans just grow huge, and some clans combine. But it seems like there is an imaginary barrier at around 50 that is going to be hard to reach. Not really sure how to explain it. As for how many will be fighting at the top, I think so long as we encourage parity and make events like the Clan League and CCup attractive to the top clans (giving lower ranked clans the chance at them) there will always be 5-10 clans that will be “top clans” and pretty much any clan in the top 20 or so of the F400 would have a decent hope of upsetting the top clan.

Q. What's your take on the casinos (owned by the same company) now decorating our state? Two weeks ago, I (The Voice) discovered, your's is right next to the gov't procurement offices, haha...figures.

Corruption and waste at its finest! I still haven’t been to the one in Columbus. I heard it has a pretty decent buffet. I’m not a huge fan of table games or slots. I love betting on events. When we go to Vegas, AC, or even Wheeling WV, all I do at the casino is drink and bet on the ponies. But, as you know, Ohio didn’t legalize all gambling so no betting on the fun stuff. We drove by the one in Toledo the other day on our way to Detroit. It looked nice. Out of place for sure. But nice.

Q. How old are you?

33

Q. Is there a story behind your username?If so, what is it?

Yes. I have a chemical engineering degree from The Ohio State University. The program is hell. So we were never home and spent most of our days in the labs. So our significant others used to joke that we were cheating on them with “Kimee” (a play on Chem. E.) So one day we discovered this really cool think called “hotmail” and we all made up clever nicknames to have as e-mail accounts. My friends and I chose chemefreak@hotmail.com as mine and I have been chemefreak ever since. I was hoping that people would call me “Freak” on CC, but alas, freakns had already cornered that market so everyone just calls me cheme.

Q. Do you like dinosaurs?

I do. I really like dinosaurs. My nephew loves them. I buy him these cheap little plastic dinosaurs everywhere I go and he just raves about them. It is pretty awesome.

Q. Does your CC boss like you or does he take you for granted?

I think the fact that I still have a job with my history speaks for itself.

Q. Do you still watch cartoons?

South Park and Family Guy. I think Anime sucks and Saturday morning rarely has any real cartoons anymore. So, I guess the answer is yes, but not very much.

Q. What super power do you dream of having?

I think invincibility with the ability to predict the future would be perfect.

Q. Your fighting style: drunken master or angry monkey?

Drunken master. That is the only time I would ever fight…drunk out of my mind.

Q. Have you ever been attacked by a wild animal?

I’ve been bit by spiders and stung by bees…do those count?

Q. Can you sleep with your closet door open?

No. I can’t. My suits on hangars look like people. They freak me out.

Q. Is it legal to travel down a road in reverse, as long as you're following the direction of the traffic?

Technically, yes. However, I guarantee you will get cited for unsafe driving or some other generic moving violation.

Q. Does anyone ever think to thank you after you have spent an afternoon issuing their medals?

Yes. I love issuing medals to the guys at TNC. I always get 2 or 3 thank yous. I would say about 1 in 10 thank me. However, if everyone replied to the pm that is generated when a medal is issued that would be a bit of a pain to respond to all of them! I’ve issued about 6000 to date.

Q. If you strangled a Smurf, what colour would it turn?

Well, I’m going to assume that the Smurf would eventually piss itself. So yellow and blue make green?

Q. How fast do hotcakes sell exactly?

Faster than coldcakes. Unless you are selling them in the desert.

Q. What is your greatest fear?

Catching on fire while boating and then right before I burn to death jumping in the water and then right before passing out as I am drowning getting eaten by a shark…not all at once, but piece by piece…bobbing up and down in a slick of my own blood as the shark nibbles at my burnt/oxygen deprived self.

Q. How old do you act?

My fiancée says that I act about 8.

Q. Why do you look up to me (ubcman64) as your hero?

Because you always insist on being on top…wait, what?

Q. Do you own a cape?

No, but I own an Ohio State snuggie…which is more of a robe, I guess.

Q. Have you ever tried on your wife's lingerie? ......and when you did, were you alone?

That would explain a lot wouldn’t it! However, I decline to answer this question on the grounds that the answer may tend to incriminate me.

Q. "Caddyshack," "Raising Arizona" or "O Brother, Where Art Thou"?

Caddyshack. That was way too easy.

Q. Will the SEC win another national championship next season or will someone else finally step up?

The next BCS national championship game will be Alabama vs Ohio State. Ohio State 31 Alabama 10. You can quote me.

Q. Jodi Arias... Death penalty? And, would you do her first? If yes, and just before the deed occurred, would you dump Jodi for Casey Anthony? (assume she could not exact revenge on you for dumping her like she did that other poor dude)

So many questions there! Death penalty, yes. College ChemE would definitely do her first (so dirty, how could you not?). Today ChemE would pass on that. Casey Anthony is a sick lady. I wouldn’t do her with your…

Q. If you were banished from the USA, what country would you move to?

Tough one. Probably Canada. I think it is the country that most reminds me of the good ole USA.

Q. Don't you hate it that the platinum medals still show up as bronze ones in the forums?

I hate it more that the usernames in the forum are exactly the same blue as our CD Moderator color.

Q. You obviously really enjoy the clan aspect of CC... but can you see any downside to the proliferation of clan participation on CC overall?

I really don’t see any downside. In my opinion, the clan world should have its own tab so that the average player can click on it easily and see the clan world. By and large, clan members are premium…that is actually required by many clans. So I think it is a win-win for the site. Also, as I mentioned previously, some players (like myself) are still around because of their clan. That being said, there will need to be a “friendly” landing pad for players to get a cordial introduction to the clan world after clicking on the tab. Right now, if you are a newer player, and you post in the “create/join a clan” thread, you will get berated by the usual posters. I mean skewered. These usual posters are not interested in the health of CC or the clan world; they are only interested in making themselves look big and important. If CC ever intends to use clans as a mechanism to encourage players to stick around, this will have to be dealt with.

Q. Do you think there are double standards in the rules on CC?

I believe you are asking if there are double standards on how the rules are applied to certain players. I think there is a double standard. Mouthy, inconsiderate, disrespectful assholes are dealt with more harshly than other players for the same offense. However, I am completely okay with this double standard.

Q. I (smegal69) know of several cases where one rule applies to some but not others, So should the rules be in black and white or should the Mods be able to choose when the rules apply?

I wish you had given some examples. I can’t speak for other sections of CC, but in clans it is nice to have some guidelines with a LOT of flexibility due to the complexity of the interworking of the clan world. I do not believe that Mods should be able to choose when rules do and don’t apply. However, I do believe that experienced Mods are in the best position to choose HOW they should be applied and to what extent.

Thanks SG5, that was fun. ++The Legion++ Rules!!!

Cheers,

ChemE

Seems like we're in peak season on the clan news front these days - we have a LOT to report on this edition! The Conquer Cup 4 drawings are completed and play-in matches are well underway - IcePack has the full report and offers his predictions and insights for the first round matches. Clan League 5 phase 1 is wrapping up and the makeup of the phase 2 divisions is starting to become clear, thanks to updated tables from qwert. This week the Platoon Report also has the exclusive scoop on a major shakeup in the F400 rankings!

As if all that isn't enough, we're excited to bring you the second part of The Voice's "What Keeps Your Clan Together?" interview with clan leaders, and an update on the Conquer Cup 3 finals from betiko - which we now know will have implications as to which team gets a bye in the first round of Conquer Cup 4. We also have a wrap-up of all the #GCCM Clan week fun that koontz provided for us last week.

I Now Pronounce You Player and ClanLoyalty to one clan fits well with keeping a clan together, but the means of establishing such a feeling toward a group that specializes playing team games on the interweb appears rather convoluted. Just as the institution of marriage attempts to bind people in a monogamous relationship, we have the 1 Clan Rule preventing players from “fooling around” with any other clan while they are spoken for.

So, players are stuck with one clan for all eternity? Well, no. Players, as we’re all well aware, can move from competitive clan to competitive clan freely. Some have flown many different banners in their CC careers, and with clans new and old actively looking for additions on a continuous basis, a player’s loyalty (or lack thereof) seems only to be an issue after he/she is recruited.

Mythology takes a more proactive approach to loyalty. “[Prioritizing loyalty when vetting potential recruits] is probably the main thing we strive for,” says Peanutsdad. “We want them to know before they ever join that if they’re going to be part of mythology, then give all to mythology, be mythology, or end up in the dungeon with the goat.”

Many clan leaders responded that maintaining an active clan forum helps establish and keep a more faithful gang. Others pointed to participating in clan events/wars as a must.

“I feel that we are a clan that desires a certain level of activity on the battlefield,” says IcePack, of The FALLEN. “It varies a little bit, but overall we are more active than most (perhaps other than TNC, OSA). We also like to do internal challenges, events within our clan that sometimes have premium prizes attached to them to help facilitate activity and keeping people interacting. Benga of One Step Ahead also notes that participating in intra-clan leagues, games, and various tournaments helps keep guys fighting under the same banner.

The Votes Are In

A democracy, or as Gunn217 eloquently puts it, an employee owned clan model where the big pigs don’t make heavy fisted decisions without the thoughts of all piglets, encourages participation and a greater sense of commitment.

“We do have jobs that we give out to many individuals, helps to keep moral up in that they are participating,” says Peanutsdad.

From QuikSilver of Les Hussards du Dragon, “We are a democracy and everybody can tell us what they want, like example enter a friend in the clan or having more games in clan wars. When they say they want a game in clan games we play against each other to test them, like little intern competition. It help to maintain a good ambiance.”

Loyalty Schmoyalty

One response I didn’t anticipate is that there isn’t always a need to incentivize loyalty so long as everything else is firing on all cylinders. Gunn217 of Pig Renters says, “To date, we've only lost one member to another clan and he only stayed for about a month. That's over 2 years of loyalty.”

Vid_FISO notes that loyalty isn’t something that has warranted any of the multiple choice options above. The competitive nature of FISO members drives them to battle as a unified clan.

“Beer helps a lot here.” - Benga

There’s something to be said about maintaining a good natured atmosphere, which ensures a more pleasurable clan experience. As QuickSilver notes, “We love to play together and mix up the teams. Sometime we only discuss strategy, but sometimes we pop out a joke and talk a lot about anything. Winning and losing happened, but a good ambiance is essential.”

We also bash all other clans constantly so our players are brainwashed into thinking we really are the only clan worth being a part of,” jokes Peanutsdad.

And of course, one of the biggest jokesters around, Freaks, has his “charming personality” to fall back on when leading Otpisani. (He clarified that he’s not actually charming at all, but we all know he is a charmer.)

Once the three winners are named, they will enter the Round of 32 Bracket against their new Top 16 opponents!

Round of 32

*Recently we found out that PACK would have to withdraw from CC4, which left the door open for TFFS to enter the Top 16 seeded side of the bracket. The winner of the CC3 Finals (TOFU vs AFOS) will receive a well deserved bye to savor the victory bubbly - while the other will have 2 weeks to ready itself for war - again!

On May 11th, the CD team drew the remaining match up's which are reflected in the above bracket and listed below for you from left to right.

Left Side of BracketOut of the two bracket sides, the left side is probably viewed as (slightly) weaker side of the bracket due to the introduction of a random element into the seeding by randomized draw.

KORT, TSM, IA, OSA, OTP are Top 10 contenders on this side of the bracket.

KORT vs AKA: IcePack Predicts - KORT AdvancesKORT is a long standing favorite to win any war, and this one is no exception. While KORT and AKA have never faced each other, they've wasted no time in creating a thread to talk smack before it kicks off!

TFFS vs VVV: IcePack Predicts - TFFS AdvancesTFFS is sometimes an underrated clan, while VVV is new to the clan scene making their first CC Event appearance. While VVV has some experienced players behind it, TFFS should come out of this the winner unless VVV can quickly find its footing. These two clans have never faced each other.

OTP vs LHDD: IcePack Predicts - OTP AdvancesOTP is the favored clan in this match up. Led by freakns and finsfleet they face a clan whom did very well when new on the clan scene within the Newcomers Cup arena, but has slowly slipped down the rankings since. OTP and LHDD have never faced each other.

OSA vs SOH: IcePack Predicts - OSA AdvancesIf history is the judge, OSA will advance in this upcoming match up. They've faced each other twice in 2012, with OSA winning both: 9-3 & 23-20 respectively. OSA has recently pushed hard and earned itself a Top 10 position, and seems to be en route to stay there for the foreseeable future.

TSM vs LOTZ: IcePack Predicts - TSM AdvancesThe Monkies should have no problem during this match up, bar any serious monkey business. It will be interesting to watch to see how LOTZ does performance wise, to see just how far they can push the monkies, luring them into traps with bananas are highly suggested. These two clans have never faced each other.

MYTH vs TLW: IcePack Predicts - MYTH AdvancesThese two clans met way back in 2009 - with MYTH taking the victory 11-9. TLW will get its long awaited revenge here and will need to work hard. With a little luck, anything is possible.

MM will face winner of WAR/KNT Play in: IcePack Predicts - WAR Wins Play In; MM Advances MM gets a short break while WAR / KNT decide who will face them. Either way, I believe once their opponent is decided MM will walk away with a victory here. WAR will be a good opponent and a fun war to watch, but MM should have what it takes to come out on top.

IA vs LEG: IcePack Predicts - IA AdvancesThese two clans have only ever met once before, back in 2010. IA came out ahead 11-5 in that match up. LEG recently secured two previous PACK players, and might possibly give IA a run for their money. I don't think it will be enough in the end, and I'm predicting IA will advance comfortably.

Right Side of BracketThis side of the bracket is probably the more "exciting" of the two, with a number of clans leaving questions as to who will advance.

TOFU, AFOS, ID, FALL, PIG, and LOW are top contenders on this side of the bracket. In addition, ACE and ATL will bring top level competition to some (un)lucky opponents in the Round of 32.

TOFU...: IcePack Predicts - TOFU AdvancesIf TOFU wins CC3, it will get a bye this round. If not, it will play the winner of HH/AQOH play in round. Either way, TOFU should have no trouble with a bye or advancing vs their planned opponents as the new #1 ranked clan on CC.

GR vs DYN: IcePack Predicts - DYN AdvancesBack in 2010 - Dynasty's first war in the clan world was against the Grim Reapers; who happened to beat DYN 25-15. Dynasty now has a chance to exact some revenge against the Reapers for their first ever loss. This should prove to be a really close match up, and both of them could walk away with a win to advance to the next round.

PIG faces winner of RA/DB Play In: IcePack Predicts - RA Wins Play In; PIG AdvancesPIG will have to wait until the play in between RA/DB has been decided. But once that war has a winner, PIG will make a splash in the pig pen and muck up the competition. RA did fairly well in CL5, so if the stars align and the Attacker's focus on acquiring additional bacon - there could potentially be an upset.

FALL vs ATL: IcePack Predicts - FALL AdvancesOne of the more interesting draws of the Round of 32, newer clan Fallen faces newly minted Atlantis. Atlantis has very strong members since its formation, and has a few wars partially completed to give itself some experience before CC4 starts. This will be one to watch as I predict a close finish.

AFOS...: IcePack Predicts - AFOS AdvancesIf AFOS wins CC3, it will get a bye this round. If not, it will play the winner of HH/AQOH play in round. Either way, AFOS should have no trouble with a bye or advancing vs their planned opponents as one of the top 3 ranked clans on CC.

TNC vs ACE: IcePack Predicts: ACE AdvancesTNC is a clan that seems to be underrated often enough, but recently has upended Fallen and the Pack - both strong Top 10 clans. ACE is the newly formed merger of Agents of Chaos (AOC) and Empire (EMP), two very strong top 10 clans until recently. With very little time for team practice or to get a war under their belt, and with TNC on a hot streak vs some strong competition - this should prove to be a very exciting war for spectators. It can go either way, but I'll say ACE takes the "upset".

LOW vs YNWA: IcePack Predicts - LOW AdvancesOld meets new, as LOW is one of the oldest clans around. It has a long and very strong history, while YNWA is one of the newest clans and has struggled in its start with a 0-3 record. In the end, LOW should be able to walk away, alone, and unscathed to its next match up. Look for LOW to win big.

ID vs MB: IcePack Predicts - ID AdvancesMB will face off with ID for the first time. Their swords better be sharpened, because I think it will take a miracle for MB to pass ID into the Round of 16. A unlucky draw for their clan for sure. Look for ID to win big.

Hear me now!Batch 2 games started earlier last week! The official score has now moved from an official 3-3 in the last dispatch issue to a 10-6 advantage for TOFU. But as you might know if you had read the last issue, TOFU seemed to have quite an advantage on ongoing games from batch 1, so no surprise there. Predictions were moving between 14-6 and 12-8 for them. So how have things moved since our last update? let's try to put those fog goggles back on!

As batch 2 started less than a week ago, it is very hard to make any prediction at this point. AFOS knows they have a handicap to catch up from batch 1 and really need to do slightly better than TOFU in this batch 2 before the final games of batch 3 start to avoid being left behind. We will definitely be able to see a lot clearer!

What about you follow conquerors, what is your final score prediction for this war?

Challenge one.With only two games to finish, a four man final has been set up, which you can follow along with here: Game 12751590.

SaMejoHn from AFOS (3 wins out of 4 games, one game not entered into by opponent)Swifte from The Immortal Assassins (4 wins out of 5 games)ViperOverLord from Manifest Destiny (4 wins out of 5 games)TheCrown from The New Crusade (4 wins out of 5 games)

Hello again my friends, and welcome to your favorite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments!

Only 5 weeks now until the last TPA3 tournament is launched, and I have been given the honour of launching it! So stay tuned for just a little longer... As the excitement builds, DaveH has renamed TPA Wrap to TPA3 Wrap (although TPA2 results will continue to be covered.) And we have our other regular features as well....

In one of my recent tournaments I have teams of three playing a combination of singles doubles and triples. With different players winning, I needed a way of linking the wins back to the team. The same type of issue arose in a tournament of doubles in which I am using "Tour Stats" for the results. In this I need to order the players in team order rather than alphabetical player order.

One solution is to have two lookup tables. One has the teams with a reference number and the other is the alphabetical list of players names with the team reference number. i.e.As a reminder on using VLookup, the process is to copy the table of 4 columns and, in Excel, select Insert/Name/Define and type in the name to be used; in this case "Teams" (note that the area selected is defined in the bottom window).

The next table is the alphabetical list of all the players with their team number in the next column. i.e.Same procedure, naming this table "Players". Now, if I have a winning player, or from the Tour Stats data a list of players, I can get the team names from the player's names by using the function VLookup(Player_Name_Cell, Players, 2, false) and then, from this team number, the captain of the team or all three or two players using VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 2, false) for the first player's name; VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 3, false) for the second and VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 4, false) for the third.

(These "tips" started off as ones that I used to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. Now, I am looking at other types of tournaments and scoring systems by all you innovative TO's out there. So, if you have a unique scoring system that you would like me to have a go at automating, please let me know and I'll be pleased to try and assist. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to of course. Please note that I use Excel 2003, so there may be variation in the menu instructions if you have other versions of Excel)

Benga's Major Escalating Fog: Killer Team tournament has silversun6, benga and jug68 as joint winners, but the minor placements have yet to be decided, so the TPA2 standings cannot yet be updated. Being a major though, the points for first place should lift a couple of the winners into the top ten at least!

TPA 2 Standings

TPA Season 3No additional tournaments have finished. Tournaments for signup include my Conquer Club Poker Tournament which recreates crazymilkshake's CCSOP tournament from TPA2. Also Silly Knig-It has posted his novel Epsilon Ski Race tournament in which rounds represent seconds; rapid game completion is the aim, but if you are losing you need to slow your opponent down. Greenoak's USA At War tournament hosts 11 USA maps and you have two chances of getting through them! To continue the USA theme, mcshanester has his MC's Fight for the USA - Dubs Style tournament, but with doubles.

Thank you to everyone who came forward to add tournaments to the TPA3 schedule - we are now full!

And now for our regular look at a selection of the tournaments in sign-ups! It feels rather strange while I'm scrolling through the Create/Join a Tournament forum, as the number of forum threads aren't enough to make 2 pages in the forum! But nevertheless, there are still a good number of fine tournaments taking sign ups, so let's take a look at some of them.

A tournament for the elite crowd, this tournament is only available to players who have won a 1v1 tournament previously. As such, you can be pretty much assured that it'll be a closely fought tournament. As one can probably deduce from the title, this tournament pits champions against each other in a battle to prove that they are indeed the masters of the settings on which they won their 1v1 tournament. Players will have to win on their home map to stay in the tournament, and defeat their opponents on away maps to take out the competition. Perhaps somewhat reminiscent of the 75th Hunger Games, also known as the third Quarter Quell, champions will definitely see bloodshed in this tournament.

Taking place on one of the earliest and most popular conquest gameplay maps, this tournament pits lovers of this map against each other as they battle for the recognition of being the feudal overlord in CC. The tournament caters to a number of game settings, and you're bound to find at least one that suits your liking (that is, if you like the map in the first place). Winners will have to win no small amount of games to get to the end of the tournament, so getting to the end won't just be a matter of luck.

If you're looking to experience all of the 200+ maps CC has to offer, but aren't quite sure where to start, then this tournament might be the place for you. Taking place solely on Random maps, you're bound to experience a large variety of maps, regardless of how far you make it into the competition. With each round consisting of 15 games, it is sure to be a chaotic but altogether exciting tournament, with the freestyle gameplay adding further confusion to the already unpredictable tournament.

Finally, in conjunction with the Great Community Map Project event, a series of fast and furious tournaments have been running, and will be continuing regularly in the near future. So do keep a look out for these tournaments!

If you're craving tourney action now, check out the Requests for Immediate Players section of the tournament forum. You can be playing very quickly after signing up as a reserve.

If you would like your tournament to be featured in the next edition of the CC Newsletter, please PM anamainiacks with the details of your tournament.

The Great Conquer Community Map (#GCCM) has run its course. After this weeks poll has ended, the real work begins for those of you up to the challenge.

Can any of you make the next great Classic map?

So next Monday, lookout for the start of the competition.

So what do we have for you this week. Well, not a lot really. We have two new maps waiting for live play Tribal War Israel and 4 Star Meats. Both should be with us any day now. Speaking of any day now, Labyrinth only has one live game left. Then we can all play it again.

It has been a blast writing for you all over the last 50 issues, but it is time I said goodbye. Seamus76 is taking over for me next issue so be nice to him betiko over the competitions.

A year ago, koontz1973 made Knights for you all to play on. A simple twist on chess for you all with a 2 player mode to boot before two player games were around. Well, all through the original thread, players kept asking for a bigger version for larger games to be made. Well, it is about time koontz did that.

Our baby is growing up so quickly, and after almost 8 weeks the Gameplay Phase of the Great Community Map Project is coming to an end. With only 8 days left until we get into the real meat of the map, Graphics, let's do a quick recap. So far we have a Medium sized Fantasy map, based on a Battle, between 35-65 terts, with Classic Gameplay, and the votes from Week 6 add in Classic Continental Bonuses. Wow, this is turning out to be a great map, and again we haven't even started the Graphics yet.

Current Poll results are below and there is still plenty of time and ways to get involved, win medals and show your support.

Results from Poll 1:

Map based on fantasy 97 votes 55%

Map based on real place 79 votes 45%

Results from Poll 2:

Small map - Less than 35 regions 92 votes 13%

Medium map - 35-65 region count 318 votes 44%

Large map - 66-99 region maps 305 votes 43%

Results from Poll 3:

Classic Game Play 69 votes 63%

Conquest Game Play 40 votes 37%

Results from Poll 4:

Map of a WORLD 36 votes 34%

Map of a CONTINENT 18 votes 17%

Map of a COUNTRY 16 votes 15%

Map of a BATTLE 37 votes 35%

Results from Poll 5:

High Fantasy / Epic Fantasy 28 votes 32%

Low Fantasy 3 votes 3

Historical Fantasy 24 votes 28%

Dark Fantasy 9 votes 10%

Contemporary Fantasy 5 votes 6%

Science Fantasy 18 votes 21%

Results from Poll 6:

Continental (Classic map) 44 votes 40%

Resource (Age of Realms) 16 votes 15%

Continental with key (Supermax Prison Riot) 38 votes 35%

Expanding (Antarctica) 37 votes 35%

No bonuses 3 votes 3%

There's still time to grab a couple of easy medals. Use the codes below, post your thoughts, and as always if Koontz1973 randomly comes across your show of support he'll toss a shiny medal your way.

The last Gameplay Poll is up and ready for voting (pick up to two options you like), and the twisted Competition, Anagrams, will hurt your head so take a look if you dare. Be sure to make your voice known, and as always have some fun.

Things to be on the look out for:The last poll is up and ready for voting.Clan Week results.Official GCCM Tournaments, when available, can be found in the offical CC tournament thread.

Even though this is the last week of #GCCM there is still time to get your posts in and show your support to have a shot at the end of the month to receive the "grand" prize GC medal and 500 conquer credits. This medal will be called The Patrons Medal, and to win this, all you need to do is post in the thread why you voted the way you did, and generally participate within the thread as much as you can during these last 8 days.

Like us on Facebook, follow @ConquerClub on Twitter and be sure to look out for the #JustForFun hash tag which will announce special games and event information.

This is the first of a new way of doing things. You will get a teaser in your inbox and the announcements but the newsletter will be here where it belongs. Given I have sent ou the teaser I won't repeat that here this issue as I really want some feedback on this idea.

Otherwise, it's a sad goodbye to Koontz1973 who has given 50 issues of sterling service to us. He will be sorely missed and Seamus is all alone so some more writers please step up!

Otherwise, it's a pleasure to bring you this fantastic edition of the Dispatch.

In the words of Thomas A. Edison:

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

So far jonty is the only one to submit game numbers for April's challenge. Please remember if you participated in the challenge to post your game numbers in the thread.

The prize for all those that participated is this:

May's Challenge has already begun and it is the Presidential Ouster Challenge. The president of Madagascar is contesting election results which lead to his ouster. To recognize this, we are having 6-Player Terminator games on the Madagascar map with all settings allowed (except low round limits).

Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information, Mafia and You, and Rules and Terms of Mafia.Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.

What is "Mafia"?Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.

Mafia NewsWith finals and projects for many players, Ending Island Mafia is the only active game. Take a quick peek as the game is just starting.

Mafia CalloutsCalling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling:

Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5A movie inspired role is discussed here.

The Gladiator

What is It?The Gladiator is a role which is usually one-shot. During any day phase, the player may declare that they will Challenge another player. All votes reset and people can only vote for one of two players: The Gladiator, and the target.

ExampleAlice is a Gladiator and challenges Bob. Everyone can only vote for Alice or Bob during this day phase.

How to Play this RoleThe Gladiator usually must declare the challenge reasonably early in the day to avoid forced lynch scenarios. Usually a Town role, it's important for the player to be certain that the target is a mafia player. If it's a town player, it not only gives mafia a free lynch, it also tends to stifle other leads and voting patterns that otherwise could be gained during the day.

Great question to start out with! Yes and no. IRL people can’t hide behind avatars. So what I would say is that I am capable of being angry IRL all the time, but I usually don’t have to be. There is a certain level of respect I am treated with IRL that is lacking on CC sometimes. As a Moderator I am sure you can appreciate this. With the exception of Admin and C&A I don’t think any other type of Moderator has to put up with as much as we do as CDs. Additionally, how often as a chatter do you get attacked by a TD or a MH…in public for doing your job? Happens to us CDs all the time. Tough to set guidelines for regular players when fellow Team CC’ers ignore them at their whim. So when this respect isn’t there, it frustrates me for sure which leads to the assumption that I am angry. So I guess, no I am not angry all the time IRL.

Q. How did you enjoy or not enjoy your time under my leadership of the CD team?

I enjoyed it very much. It is unfortunate that we will not get to enjoy the fruits of your labors going forward. The CCup will be a success. Of this I have no doubt. Unfortunately, it appears, someone had to take the bullet. As a leader, you did just that. Not sure what else you can ask for from a boss? In the future I think those who know what you did for clans will look back at your reign and judge it a success. You will also get the credit/blame for CDF! If it becomes CLA v2.0 I know I am going to blame you! But, the verdict is still out on that group. We will have to see how it evolves.

Q. If you could have one update tomorrow, what would it be and why?

SITTING FEATURE! Personally, I have always been insulted that no one has ever call me out for an account sitting violation… they probably figure me playing the turns gives them an advantage! Can you imagine players thinking that you are SO GOOD that if you took all your team’s turns it would put them at a disadvantage? I guess no one wants to play FOUR CoFs! In all seriousness though, jpcloet (the primary reason we have a “clan world”) gave up his job over sitting issues. We just drafted a set of rules to cover sitting in clans so it is clearly still a front issue. Do I think it will ever happen? Nope. So given that there isn’t much chance of this update, perhaps we could just get our expanded clan medals so I can give TheCrown and the other past and current members of TNC a medal sometime. Some of them have at least 5-10 stored medals that the system won’t allow me to issue.

Q. When will you remove my (smegal69) Medal?

Never. Oh, and yes I can. With the click of a button.

Q. Should clan wars have a lot more smack talk in them, as it is a war and not some kind of hippie hugs fest?

Clan wars should be knockdown, smack-talk fests! That is, clan war THREADS should be peppered with all kinds of smack talk. The general clan forum, the join/create a clan forum, and most other threads that are not clan war related should be treated as normal threads. Now, I will say this, in my 2.5 years as a CD only ONE player has ever been “site punished” for something said, posted, or done in a clan war thread. Players hit that little upside-down triangle thingy all the time in clans. Those are always looked at, but never usually acted on. But again, there is only ONE I can think of that ever went higher than the CDs. My general rule is if it does not offend my version of the lowest form of human dignity (a very high bar) then the content is okay. However, just for instance mind you, a picture with a mammal stroking another mammal’s erect penis is a little bit much, but when you put a nametag on the stroker that corresponds to a current CC player…that crosses even my line! So make the war threads as hostile as you want, but follow two general rules (1) if what you put in there would make the average person gag, leave it out and (2) don’t mock the Moderators. Most likely, if we post in your war thread, someone has complained and so we are just trying cool things down for a bit. When the next post is a post quoting our post with a disrespectful comment…well, that is when clans lose medals…

Q. Ass or breast man?

Definitely breasts.

Q. How awesome was it when one player and his multies beat an entire clan?

Well, when we (++The Legion++) lost to you and your multies by 30 games it hurt pretty fucking bad! But still, pretty awesome.

Q. How have you managed to sustain your interest in CC?

Easy. I love my clan, ++The Legion++. If I were just logging on every day and taking turns with anonymous partners or as a loner in standard play games, I’m pretty sure I would have stopped playing years ago. But the camaraderie of my clanmates and the intensity of the rolls in meaningful clan games keep me coming back for more. [Or, if you prefer, the massive power trip I get from being a CD…muahahahahaha]

Q. What kind of attorney are you? I (danryan) imagine you chasing ambulances at top speed, desperately trying to finish your cc turns on your laptop between clients.

Hehe. I am primarily a trial attorney. But my areas of specialty are business and tax. So I do a lot of contract litigation and work in the United States Tax Court. However, back in the day before I became my own boss, I did chase an ambulance or two! These days though, our firm is pretty tech-heavy. So I have a Mac Mini at home attached to big television for a monitor. I have a similar set-up in my office. I also have a MacBook, Ipad, and Iphone. And, of course, everything that can load Firefox with BOB and clickable maps has it loaded! So I would say I am at or around a computer about 18 hours a day…and I play CC whenever I can. Hell, I have posted during a break in court before and I play a lot while I am defending depositions (Yawn)! My ambulance chasing days ended before I joined CC.

Q. What makes you want to continue when everyone gives you so much crap about the great service you do for CC?

Well, first, thank you for noticing (the great service, not the crap!) Honestly, I really don’t notice the crap anymore. You get so used to it that you just let it roll right by you. Also I often have to make sure to remind myself that it is just an online game where people roll imaginary attacker cubes! The main reason I continue is my clan. So the better environment I can curate for my clan, the better it will be for my clan. I feel that the clan world is better with me, than without me. Probably a bit egotistical, but I think overall this is the truth. At least, this is the thought that keeps me going during the dark times!

Q. What would be one thing you've done in your position you might wish to reconsider or do over how it was handled?

I’ve noodled this question for a while and I can’t think of any one big thing (or mistake) that I would reconsider. A lot of stuff has happened in 2.5 years. I think there have been some rocky transitions from time to time, but I think the clan world always got to where we envisioned it would (and should) go. Now, on a daily basis, I think that I have become a bit jaded with some players that I call “the usual posters” (the “ups” or “tups”). I wish there was a way to reset my relationship with (some of) these players and see if it is as bad as I really think it is. So I would say that if I were to reconsider anything it would be whether these players actually deserve the sharp side of my tongue every time they post. Additionally, I guess, I would have taken up CCup3 when chuuuuck went awol. I was just too busy in RL to do it correctly. In hindsight, it is clear that it would have avoided a lot of unpleasantness that followed had the CDs just done it from the jump. But, alas, Dako came in (and did a great job) and the rest is history.

Q. What do you think about leehar taking over the clan section?

Well, I hate the circumstances. But there is nothing we can do about it. I think Leehar will do and has been doing a great job as the Head CD. I’m looking forward to working with him for a long time.

Q. Were you offered the position first?

No. The Head CD position has never been offered to me.

Q. Are you pissed off because you do the main part of work issuing medals sorting out clan wars etc and were overlooked for the head cd after your long time service to that department?

I wouldn’t say, “overlooked”. I would say that when jpcloet left and when Masli left Admin made it clear that they wanted to promote from a high level within Team CC. Both Masli and Bruceswar had held positions within Team CC that granted them higher (more) access than I had. Also, Andy and I got along pretty well. So he politically (and correctly) mentioned to me that I am just a fucking lightning rod and they didn’t see it as a rational course of action to promote me. I didn’t disagree. When Bruceswar was “removed?” the CDs actually huddled on Skype and discussed what we thought we should do. Everyone asked everyone else if they wanted to be an option and I declined. We then decided that Leehar would be great and he was willing to take the position. Admin agreed, and there you go. So, “overlooked” is not really accurate in this situation. And no, I am not pissed off about anything with regards to my treatment in any of these situations. I have been lucky to work under great Head CDs and to work with a dedicated and talented group of people for 2.5 years. I have also been able to stay out of the crosshairs to some degree, which is a luxury the Head CD does not have.

Q. How much time do you spend on CC a day?

Well, I am able to play pretty much anytime due to my virtually unlimited access to a computer/tablet/phone. I would say that I actually spend 5-6 hours a day somewhat paying attention to CC. Whether it be playing my games, arranging games for my clan, or CD stuff (medals, moderating, etc.)

Q. Do you still have goals you'd like to reach?

I tried to get excited about medals. I did. But I just couldn’t. I hate freestyle and trench is an absolute abomination. So there are medals I have no intention of ever getting. I would like to see ++The Legion++ climb its way back into the top 10. I remember back in the day when we had a long string of clan war victories…man, that felt good! It would be nice to get back to that level.

Q. How do you think CC and clans will evolve within...2-3 years?

The CC one is hard to answer. I’m hoping there are never ads for paying customers. Other than that, there will be new maps, changes to old maps, new settings that we never even thought of, and on and on. Should be fun to watch CC evolve. The clans one is even harder to answer. I think we are going to see a lot more automation when it comes to privileges, medals, etc. Which should be really nice. I think clan wars will stay basically clan wars and I think the current League and CCup setup are here to stay. Oh, and maybe someday we will get our very own tab! Other than that, I really don’t see much happening in the short-term.

Q. How many clans do you foresee battling it out for clan dominance in 2-3 years?

As most of you know, I have fought hard to avoid any elitist tilt when it comes to the clan world. My biggest fear is that the top clans will just schedule clan wars between themselves from here to eternity. There is nothing any of us can do to stop them from doing it. And, it has come closer to happening than most people think. What would happen in this scenario is that in order to play the top clans, you would have to join one of the top clans to do so. This would create a power vacuum that would, in my opinion, kill clans on CC. Now, to your question, I don’t think there will ever be more than 50 (give or take a few) clans. The trend has been that some new clans fail, some old clans go social, some clans just grow huge, and some clans combine. But it seems like there is an imaginary barrier at around 50 that is going to be hard to reach. Not really sure how to explain it. As for how many will be fighting at the top, I think so long as we encourage parity and make events like the Clan League and CCup attractive to the top clans (giving lower ranked clans the chance at them) there will always be 5-10 clans that will be “top clans” and pretty much any clan in the top 20 or so of the F400 would have a decent hope of upsetting the top clan.

Q. What's your take on the casinos (owned by the same company) now decorating our state? Two weeks ago, I (The Voice) discovered, your's is right next to the gov't procurement offices, haha...figures.

Corruption and waste at its finest! I still haven’t been to the one in Columbus. I heard it has a pretty decent buffet. I’m not a huge fan of table games or slots. I love betting on events. When we go to Vegas, AC, or even Wheeling WV, all I do at the casino is drink and bet on the ponies. But, as you know, Ohio didn’t legalize all gambling so no betting on the fun stuff. We drove by the one in Toledo the other day on our way to Detroit. It looked nice. Out of place for sure. But nice.

Q. How old are you?

33

Q. Is there a story behind your username?If so, what is it?

Yes. I have a chemical engineering degree from The Ohio State University. The program is hell. So we were never home and spent most of our days in the labs. So our significant others used to joke that we were cheating on them with “Kimee” (a play on Chem. E.) So one day we discovered this really cool think called “hotmail” and we all made up clever nicknames to have as e-mail accounts. My friends and I chose chemefreak@hotmail.com as mine and I have been chemefreak ever since. I was hoping that people would call me “Freak” on CC, but alas, freakns had already cornered that market so everyone just calls me cheme.

Q. Do you like dinosaurs?

I do. I really like dinosaurs. My nephew loves them. I buy him these cheap little plastic dinosaurs everywhere I go and he just raves about them. It is pretty awesome.

Q. Does your CC boss like you or does he take you for granted?

I think the fact that I still have a job with my history speaks for itself.

Q. Do you still watch cartoons?

South Park and Family Guy. I think Anime sucks and Saturday morning rarely has any real cartoons anymore. So, I guess the answer is yes, but not very much.

Q. What super power do you dream of having?

I think invincibility with the ability to predict the future would be perfect.

Q. Your fighting style: drunken master or angry monkey?

Drunken master. That is the only time I would ever fight…drunk out of my mind.

Q. Have you ever been attacked by a wild animal?

I’ve been bit by spiders and stung by bees…do those count?

Q. Can you sleep with your closet door open?

No. I can’t. My suits on hangars look like people. They freak me out.

Q. Is it legal to travel down a road in reverse, as long as you're following the direction of the traffic?

Technically, yes. However, I guarantee you will get cited for unsafe driving or some other generic moving violation.

Q. Does anyone ever think to thank you after you have spent an afternoon issuing their medals?

Yes. I love issuing medals to the guys at TNC. I always get 2 or 3 thank yous. I would say about 1 in 10 thank me. However, if everyone replied to the pm that is generated when a medal is issued that would be a bit of a pain to respond to all of them! I’ve issued about 6000 to date.

Q. If you strangled a Smurf, what colour would it turn?

Well, I’m going to assume that the Smurf would eventually piss itself. So yellow and blue make green?

Q. How fast do hotcakes sell exactly?

Faster than coldcakes. Unless you are selling them in the desert.

Q. What is your greatest fear?

Catching on fire while boating and then right before I burn to death jumping in the water and then right before passing out as I am drowning getting eaten by a shark…not all at once, but piece by piece…bobbing up and down in a slick of my own blood as the shark nibbles at my burnt/oxygen deprived self.

Q. How old do you act?

My fiancée says that I act about 8.

Q. Why do you look up to me (ubcman64) as your hero?

Because you always insist on being on top…wait, what?

Q. Do you own a cape?

No, but I own an Ohio State snuggie…which is more of a robe, I guess.

Q. Have you ever tried on your wife's lingerie? ......and when you did, were you alone?

That would explain a lot wouldn’t it! However, I decline to answer this question on the grounds that the answer may tend to incriminate me.

Q. "Caddyshack," "Raising Arizona" or "O Brother, Where Art Thou"?

Caddyshack. That was way too easy.

Q. Will the SEC win another national championship next season or will someone else finally step up?

The next BCS national championship game will be Alabama vs Ohio State. Ohio State 31 Alabama 10. You can quote me.

Q. Jodi Arias... Death penalty? And, would you do her first? If yes, and just before the deed occurred, would you dump Jodi for Casey Anthony? (assume she could not exact revenge on you for dumping her like she did that other poor dude)

So many questions there! Death penalty, yes. College ChemE would definitely do her first (so dirty, how could you not?). Today ChemE would pass on that. Casey Anthony is a sick lady. I wouldn’t do her with your…

Q. If you were banished from the USA, what country would you move to?

Tough one. Probably Canada. I think it is the country that most reminds me of the good ole USA.

Q. Don't you hate it that the platinum medals still show up as bronze ones in the forums?

I hate it more that the usernames in the forum are exactly the same blue as our CD Moderator color.

Q. You obviously really enjoy the clan aspect of CC... but can you see any downside to the proliferation of clan participation on CC overall?

I really don’t see any downside. In my opinion, the clan world should have its own tab so that the average player can click on it easily and see the clan world. By and large, clan members are premium…that is actually required by many clans. So I think it is a win-win for the site. Also, as I mentioned previously, some players (like myself) are still around because of their clan. That being said, there will need to be a “friendly” landing pad for players to get a cordial introduction to the clan world after clicking on the tab. Right now, if you are a newer player, and you post in the “create/join a clan” thread, you will get berated by the usual posters. I mean skewered. These usual posters are not interested in the health of CC or the clan world; they are only interested in making themselves look big and important. If CC ever intends to use clans as a mechanism to encourage players to stick around, this will have to be dealt with.

Q. Do you think there are double standards in the rules on CC?

I believe you are asking if there are double standards on how the rules are applied to certain players. I think there is a double standard. Mouthy, inconsiderate, disrespectful assholes are dealt with more harshly than other players for the same offense. However, I am completely okay with this double standard.

Q. I (smegal69) know of several cases where one rule applies to some but not others, So should the rules be in black and white or should the Mods be able to choose when the rules apply?

I wish you had given some examples. I can’t speak for other sections of CC, but in clans it is nice to have some guidelines with a LOT of flexibility due to the complexity of the interworking of the clan world. I do not believe that Mods should be able to choose when rules do and don’t apply. However, I do believe that experienced Mods are in the best position to choose HOW they should be applied and to what extent.

Thanks SG5, that was fun. ++The Legion++ Rules!!!

Cheers,

ChemE

Seems like we're in peak season on the clan news front these days - we have a LOT to report on this edition! The Conquer Cup 4 drawings are completed and play-in matches are well underway - IcePack has the full report and offers his predictions and insights for the first round matches. Clan League 5 phase 1 is wrapping up and the makeup of the phase 2 divisions is starting to become clear, thanks to updated tables from qwert. This week the Platoon Report also has the exclusive scoop on a major shakeup in the F400 rankings!

As if all that isn't enough, we're excited to bring you the second part of The Voice's "What Keeps Your Clan Together?" interview with clan leaders, and an update on the Conquer Cup 3 finals from betiko - which we now know will have implications as to which team gets a bye in the first round of Conquer Cup 4. We also have a wrap-up of all the #GCCM Clan week fun that koontz provided for us last week.

I Now Pronounce You Player and ClanLoyalty to one clan fits well with keeping a clan together, but the means of establishing such a feeling toward a group that specializes playing team games on the interweb appears rather convoluted. Just as the institution of marriage attempts to bind people in a monogamous relationship, we have the 1 Clan Rule preventing players from “fooling around” with any other clan while they are spoken for.

So, players are stuck with one clan for all eternity? Well, no. Players, as we’re all well aware, can move from competitive clan to competitive clan freely. Some have flown many different banners in their CC careers, and with clans new and old actively looking for additions on a continuous basis, a player’s loyalty (or lack thereof) seems only to be an issue after he/she is recruited.

Mythology takes a more proactive approach to loyalty. “[Prioritizing loyalty when vetting potential recruits] is probably the main thing we strive for,” says Peanutsdad. “We want them to know before they ever join that if they’re going to be part of mythology, then give all to mythology, be mythology, or end up in the dungeon with the goat.”

Many clan leaders responded that maintaining an active clan forum helps establish and keep a more faithful gang. Others pointed to participating in clan events/wars as a must.

“I feel that we are a clan that desires a certain level of activity on the battlefield,” says IcePack, of The FALLEN. “It varies a little bit, but overall we are more active than most (perhaps other than TNC, OSA). We also like to do internal challenges, events within our clan that sometimes have premium prizes attached to them to help facilitate activity and keeping people interacting. Benga of One Step Ahead also notes that participating in intra-clan leagues, games, and various tournaments helps keep guys fighting under the same banner.

The Votes Are In

A democracy, or as Gunn217 eloquently puts it, an employee owned clan model where the big pigs don’t make heavy fisted decisions without the thoughts of all piglets, encourages participation and a greater sense of commitment.

“We do have jobs that we give out to many individuals, helps to keep moral up in that they are participating,” says Peanutsdad.

From QuikSilver of Les Hussards du Dragon, “We are a democracy and everybody can tell us what they want, like example enter a friend in the clan or having more games in clan wars. When they say they want a game in clan games we play against each other to test them, like little intern competition. It help to maintain a good ambiance.”

Loyalty Schmoyalty

One response I didn’t anticipate is that there isn’t always a need to incentivize loyalty so long as everything else is firing on all cylinders. Gunn217 of Pig Renters says, “To date, we've only lost one member to another clan and he only stayed for about a month. That's over 2 years of loyalty.”

Vid_FISO notes that loyalty isn’t something that has warranted any of the multiple choice options above. The competitive nature of FISO members drives them to battle as a unified clan.

“Beer helps a lot here.” - Benga

There’s something to be said about maintaining a good natured atmosphere, which ensures a more pleasurable clan experience. As QuickSilver notes, “We love to play together and mix up the teams. Sometime we only discuss strategy, but sometimes we pop out a joke and talk a lot about anything. Winning and losing happened, but a good ambiance is essential.”

We also bash all other clans constantly so our players are brainwashed into thinking we really are the only clan worth being a part of,” jokes Peanutsdad.

And of course, one of the biggest jokesters around, Freaks, has his “charming personality” to fall back on when leading Otpisani. (He clarified that he’s not actually charming at all, but we all know he is a charmer.)

Once the three winners are named, they will enter the Round of 32 Bracket against their new Top 16 opponents!

Round of 32

*Recently we found out that PACK would have to withdraw from CC4, which left the door open for TFFS to enter the Top 16 seeded side of the bracket. The winner of the CC3 Finals (TOFU vs AFOS) will receive a well deserved bye to savor the victory bubbly - while the other will have 2 weeks to ready itself for war - again!

On May 11th, the CD team drew the remaining match up's which are reflected in the above bracket and listed below for you from left to right.

Left Side of BracketOut of the two bracket sides, the left side is probably viewed as (slightly) weaker side of the bracket due to the introduction of a random element into the seeding by randomized draw.

KORT, TSM, IA, OSA, OTP are Top 10 contenders on this side of the bracket.

KORT vs AKA: IcePack Predicts - KORT AdvancesKORT is a long standing favorite to win any war, and this one is no exception. While KORT and AKA have never faced each other, they've wasted no time in creating a thread to talk smack before it kicks off!

TFFS vs VVV: IcePack Predicts - TFFS AdvancesTFFS is sometimes an underrated clan, while VVV is new to the clan scene making their first CC Event appearance. While VVV has some experienced players behind it, TFFS should come out of this the winner unless VVV can quickly find its footing. These two clans have never faced each other.

OTP vs LHDD: IcePack Predicts - OTP AdvancesOTP is the favored clan in this match up. Led by freakns and finsfleet they face a clan whom did very well when new on the clan scene within the Newcomers Cup arena, but has slowly slipped down the rankings since. OTP and LHDD have never faced each other.

OSA vs SOH: IcePack Predicts - OSA AdvancesIf history is the judge, OSA will advance in this upcoming match up. They've faced each other twice in 2012, with OSA winning both: 9-3 & 23-20 respectively. OSA has recently pushed hard and earned itself a Top 10 position, and seems to be en route to stay there for the foreseeable future.

TSM vs LOTZ: IcePack Predicts - TSM AdvancesThe Monkies should have no problem during this match up, bar any serious monkey business. It will be interesting to watch to see how LOTZ does performance wise, to see just how far they can push the monkies, luring them into traps with bananas are highly suggested. These two clans have never faced each other.

MYTH vs TLW: IcePack Predicts - MYTH AdvancesThese two clans met way back in 2009 - with MYTH taking the victory 11-9. TLW will get its long awaited revenge here and will need to work hard. With a little luck, anything is possible.

MM will face winner of WAR/KNT Play in: IcePack Predicts - WAR Wins Play In; MM Advances MM gets a short break while WAR / KNT decide who will face them. Either way, I believe once their opponent is decided MM will walk away with a victory here. WAR will be a good opponent and a fun war to watch, but MM should have what it takes to come out on top.

IA vs LEG: IcePack Predicts - IA AdvancesThese two clans have only ever met once before, back in 2010. IA came out ahead 11-5 in that match up. LEG recently secured two previous PACK players, and might possibly give IA a run for their money. I don't think it will be enough in the end, and I'm predicting IA will advance comfortably.

Right Side of BracketThis side of the bracket is probably the more "exciting" of the two, with a number of clans leaving questions as to who will advance.

TOFU, AFOS, ID, FALL, PIG, and LOW are top contenders on this side of the bracket. In addition, ACE and ATL will bring top level competition to some (un)lucky opponents in the Round of 32.

TOFU...: IcePack Predicts - TOFU AdvancesIf TOFU wins CC3, it will get a bye this round. If not, it will play the winner of HH/AQOH play in round. Either way, TOFU should have no trouble with a bye or advancing vs their planned opponents as the new #1 ranked clan on CC.

GR vs DYN: IcePack Predicts - DYN AdvancesBack in 2010 - Dynasty's first war in the clan world was against the Grim Reapers; who happened to beat DYN 25-15. Dynasty now has a chance to exact some revenge against the Reapers for their first ever loss. This should prove to be a really close match up, and both of them could walk away with a win to advance to the next round.

PIG faces winner of RA/DB Play In: IcePack Predicts - RA Wins Play In; PIG AdvancesPIG will have to wait until the play in between RA/DB has been decided. But once that war has a winner, PIG will make a splash in the pig pen and muck up the competition. RA did fairly well in CL5, so if the stars align and the Attacker's focus on acquiring additional bacon - there could potentially be an upset.

FALL vs ATL: IcePack Predicts - FALL AdvancesOne of the more interesting draws of the Round of 32, newer clan Fallen faces newly minted Atlantis. Atlantis has very strong members since its formation, and has a few wars partially completed to give itself some experience before CC4 starts. This will be one to watch as I predict a close finish.

AFOS...: IcePack Predicts - AFOS AdvancesIf AFOS wins CC3, it will get a bye this round. If not, it will play the winner of HH/AQOH play in round. Either way, AFOS should have no trouble with a bye or advancing vs their planned opponents as one of the top 3 ranked clans on CC.

TNC vs ACE: IcePack Predicts: ACE AdvancesTNC is a clan that seems to be underrated often enough, but recently has upended Fallen and the Pack - both strong Top 10 clans. ACE is the newly formed merger of Agents of Chaos (AOC) and Empire (EMP), two very strong top 10 clans until recently. With very little time for team practice or to get a war under their belt, and with TNC on a hot streak vs some strong competition - this should prove to be a very exciting war for spectators. It can go either way, but I'll say ACE takes the "upset".

LOW vs YNWA: IcePack Predicts - LOW AdvancesOld meets new, as LOW is one of the oldest clans around. It has a long and very strong history, while YNWA is one of the newest clans and has struggled in its start with a 0-3 record. In the end, LOW should be able to walk away, alone, and unscathed to its next match up. Look for LOW to win big.

ID vs MB: IcePack Predicts - ID AdvancesMB will face off with ID for the first time. Their swords better be sharpened, because I think it will take a miracle for MB to pass ID into the Round of 16. A unlucky draw for their clan for sure. Look for ID to win big.

Hear me now!Batch 2 games started earlier last week! The official score has now moved from an official 3-3 in the last dispatch issue to a 10-6 advantage for TOFU. But as you might know if you had read the last issue, TOFU seemed to have quite an advantage on ongoing games from batch 1, so no surprise there. Predictions were moving between 14-6 and 12-8 for them. So how have things moved since our last update? let's try to put those fog goggles back on!

As batch 2 started less than a week ago, it is very hard to make any prediction at this point. AFOS knows they have a handicap to catch up from batch 1 and really need to do slightly better than TOFU in this batch 2 before the final games of batch 3 start to avoid being left behind. We will definitely be able to see a lot clearer!

What about you follow conquerors, what is your final score prediction for this war?

Challenge one.With only two games to finish, a four man final has been set up, which you can follow along with here: Game 12751590.

SaMejoHn from AFOS (3 wins out of 4 games, one game not entered into by opponent)Swifte from The Immortal Assassins (4 wins out of 5 games)ViperOverLord from Manifest Destiny (4 wins out of 5 games)TheCrown from The New Crusade (4 wins out of 5 games)

Hello again my friends, and welcome to your favorite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments!

Only 5 weeks now until the last TPA3 tournament is launched, and I have been given the honour of launching it! So stay tuned for just a little longer... As the excitement builds, DaveH has renamed TPA Wrap to TPA3 Wrap (although TPA2 results will continue to be covered.) And we have our other regular features as well....

In one of my recent tournaments I have teams of three playing a combination of singles doubles and triples. With different players winning, I needed a way of linking the wins back to the team. The same type of issue arose in a tournament of doubles in which I am using "Tour Stats" for the results. In this I need to order the players in team order rather than alphabetical player order.

One solution is to have two lookup tables. One has the teams with a reference number and the other is the alphabetical list of players names with the team reference number. i.e.As a reminder on using VLookup, the process is to copy the table of 4 columns and, in Excel, select Insert/Name/Define and type in the name to be used; in this case "Teams" (note that the area selected is defined in the bottom window).

The next table is the alphabetical list of all the players with their team number in the next column. i.e.Same procedure, naming this table "Players". Now, if I have a winning player, or from the Tour Stats data a list of players, I can get the team names from the player's names by using the function VLookup(Player_Name_Cell, Players, 2, false) and then, from this team number, the captain of the team or all three or two players using VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 2, false) for the first player's name; VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 3, false) for the second and VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 4, false) for the third.

(These "tips" started off as ones that I used to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. Now, I am looking at other types of tournaments and scoring systems by all you innovative TO's out there. So, if you have a unique scoring system that you would like me to have a go at automating, please let me know and I'll be pleased to try and assist. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to of course. Please note that I use Excel 2003, so there may be variation in the menu instructions if you have other versions of Excel)

Benga's Major Escalating Fog: Killer Team tournament has silversun6, benga and jug68 as joint winners, but the minor placements have yet to be decided, so the TPA2 standings cannot yet be updated. Being a major though, the points for first place should lift a couple of the winners into the top ten at least!

TPA 2 Standings

TPA Season 3No additional tournaments have finished. Tournaments for signup include my Conquer Club Poker Tournament which recreates crazymilkshake's CCSOP tournament from TPA2. Also Silly Knig-It has posted his novel Epsilon Ski Race tournament in which rounds represent seconds; rapid game completion is the aim, but if you are losing you need to slow your opponent down. Greenoak's USA At War tournament hosts 11 USA maps and you have two chances of getting through them! To continue the USA theme, mcshanester has his MC's Fight for the USA - Dubs Style tournament, but with doubles.

Thank you to everyone who came forward to add tournaments to the TPA3 schedule - we are now full!

And now for our regular look at a selection of the tournaments in sign-ups! It feels rather strange while I'm scrolling through the Create/Join a Tournament forum, as the number of forum threads aren't enough to make 2 pages in the forum! But nevertheless, there are still a good number of fine tournaments taking sign ups, so let's take a look at some of them.

A tournament for the elite crowd, this tournament is only available to players who have won a 1v1 tournament previously. As such, you can be pretty much assured that it'll be a closely fought tournament. As one can probably deduce from the title, this tournament pits champions against each other in a battle to prove that they are indeed the masters of the settings on which they won their 1v1 tournament. Players will have to win on their home map to stay in the tournament, and defeat their opponents on away maps to take out the competition. Perhaps somewhat reminiscent of the 75th Hunger Games, also known as the third Quarter Quell, champions will definitely see bloodshed in this tournament.

Taking place on one of the earliest and most popular conquest gameplay maps, this tournament pits lovers of this map against each other as they battle for the recognition of being the feudal overlord in CC. The tournament caters to a number of game settings, and you're bound to find at least one that suits your liking (that is, if you like the map in the first place). Winners will have to win no small amount of games to get to the end of the tournament, so getting to the end won't just be a matter of luck.

If you're looking to experience all of the 200+ maps CC has to offer, but aren't quite sure where to start, then this tournament might be the place for you. Taking place solely on Random maps, you're bound to experience a large variety of maps, regardless of how far you make it into the competition. With each round consisting of 15 games, it is sure to be a chaotic but altogether exciting tournament, with the freestyle gameplay adding further confusion to the already unpredictable tournament.

Finally, in conjunction with the Great Community Map Project event, a series of fast and furious tournaments have been running, and will be continuing regularly in the near future. So do keep a look out for these tournaments!

If you're craving tourney action now, check out the Requests for Immediate Players section of the tournament forum. You can be playing very quickly after signing up as a reserve.

If you would like your tournament to be featured in the next edition of the CC Newsletter, please PM anamainiacks with the details of your tournament.

The Great Conquer Community Map (#GCCM) has run its course. After this weeks poll has ended, the real work begins for those of you up to the challenge.

Can any of you make the next great Classic map?

So next Monday, lookout for the start of the competition.

So what do we have for you this week. Well, not a lot really. We have two new maps waiting for live play Tribal War Israel and 4 Star Meats. Both should be with us any day now. Speaking of any day now, Labyrinth only has one live game left. Then we can all play it again.

It has been a blast writing for you all over the last 50 issues, but it is time I said goodbye. Seamus76 is taking over for me next issue so be nice to him betiko over the competitions.

A year ago, koontz1973 made Knights for you all to play on. A simple twist on chess for you all with a 2 player mode to boot before two player games were around. Well, all through the original thread, players kept asking for a bigger version for larger games to be made. Well, it is about time koontz did that.

Our baby is growing up so quickly, and after almost 8 weeks the Gameplay Phase of the Great Community Map Project is coming to an end. With only 8 days left until we get into the real meat of the map, Graphics, let's do a quick recap. So far we have a Medium sized Fantasy map, based on a Battle, between 35-65 terts, with Classic Gameplay, and the votes from Week 6 add in Classic Continental Bonuses. Wow, this is turning out to be a great map, and again we haven't even started the Graphics yet.

Current Poll results are below and there is still plenty of time and ways to get involved, win medals and show your support.

Results from Poll 1:

Map based on fantasy 97 votes 55%

Map based on real place 79 votes 45%

Results from Poll 2:

Small map - Less than 35 regions 92 votes 13%

Medium map - 35-65 region count 318 votes 44%

Large map - 66-99 region maps 305 votes 43%

Results from Poll 3:

Classic Game Play 69 votes 63%

Conquest Game Play 40 votes 37%

Results from Poll 4:

Map of a WORLD 36 votes 34%

Map of a CONTINENT 18 votes 17%

Map of a COUNTRY 16 votes 15%

Map of a BATTLE 37 votes 35%

Results from Poll 5:

High Fantasy / Epic Fantasy 28 votes 32%

Low Fantasy 3 votes 3

Historical Fantasy 24 votes 28%

Dark Fantasy 9 votes 10%

Contemporary Fantasy 5 votes 6%

Science Fantasy 18 votes 21%

Results from Poll 6:

Continental (Classic map) 44 votes 40%

Resource (Age of Realms) 16 votes 15%

Continental with key (Supermax Prison Riot) 38 votes 35%

Expanding (Antarctica) 37 votes 35%

No bonuses 3 votes 3%

There's still time to grab a couple of easy medals. Use the codes below, post your thoughts, and as always if Koontz1973 randomly comes across your show of support he'll toss a shiny medal your way.

The last Gameplay Poll is up and ready for voting (pick up to two options you like), and the twisted Competition, Anagrams, will hurt your head so take a look if you dare. Be sure to make your voice known, and as always have some fun.

Things to be on the look out for:The last poll is up and ready for voting.Clan Week results.Official GCCM Tournaments, when available, can be found in the offical CC tournament thread.

Even though this is the last week of #GCCM there is still time to get your posts in and show your support to have a shot at the end of the month to receive the "grand" prize GC medal and 500 conquer credits. This medal will be called The Patrons Medal, and to win this, all you need to do is post in the thread why you voted the way you did, and generally participate within the thread as much as you can during these last 8 days.

Like us on Facebook, follow @ConquerClub on Twitter and be sure to look out for the #JustForFun hash tag which will announce special games and event information.

This is the first of a new way of doing things. You will get a teaser in your inbox and the announcements but the newsletter will be here where it belongs. Given I have sent ou the teaser I won't repeat that here this issue as I really want some feedback on this idea.

Otherwise, it's a sad goodbye to Koontz1973 who has given 50 issues of sterling service to us. He will be sorely missed and Seamus is all alone so some more writers please step up!

Otherwise, it's a pleasure to bring you this fantastic edition of the Dispatch.

In the words of Thomas A. Edison:

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

So far jonty is the only one to submit game numbers for April's challenge. Please remember if you participated in the challenge to post your game numbers in the thread.

The prize for all those that participated is this:

May's Challenge has already begun and it is the Presidential Ouster Challenge. The president of Madagascar is contesting election results which lead to his ouster. To recognize this, we are having 6-Player Terminator games on the Madagascar map with all settings allowed (except low round limits).

Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information, Mafia and You, and Rules and Terms of Mafia.Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.

What is "Mafia"?Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.

Mafia NewsWith finals and projects for many players, Ending Island Mafia is the only active game. Take a quick peek as the game is just starting.

Mafia CalloutsCalling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling:

Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5A movie inspired role is discussed here.

The Gladiator

What is It?The Gladiator is a role which is usually one-shot. During any day phase, the player may declare that they will Challenge another player. All votes reset and people can only vote for one of two players: The Gladiator, and the target.

ExampleAlice is a Gladiator and challenges Bob. Everyone can only vote for Alice or Bob during this day phase.

How to Play this RoleThe Gladiator usually must declare the challenge reasonably early in the day to avoid forced lynch scenarios. Usually a Town role, it's important for the player to be certain that the target is a mafia player. If it's a town player, it not only gives mafia a free lynch, it also tends to stifle other leads and voting patterns that otherwise could be gained during the day.

Great question to start out with! Yes and no. IRL people can’t hide behind avatars. So what I would say is that I am capable of being angry IRL all the time, but I usually don’t have to be. There is a certain level of respect I am treated with IRL that is lacking on CC sometimes. As a Moderator I am sure you can appreciate this. With the exception of Admin and C&A I don’t think any other type of Moderator has to put up with as much as we do as CDs. Additionally, how often as a chatter do you get attacked by a TD or a MH…in public for doing your job? Happens to us CDs all the time. Tough to set guidelines for regular players when fellow Team CC’ers ignore them at their whim. So when this respect isn’t there, it frustrates me for sure which leads to the assumption that I am angry. So I guess, no I am not angry all the time IRL.

Q. How did you enjoy or not enjoy your time under my leadership of the CD team?

I enjoyed it very much. It is unfortunate that we will not get to enjoy the fruits of your labors going forward. The CCup will be a success. Of this I have no doubt. Unfortunately, it appears, someone had to take the bullet. As a leader, you did just that. Not sure what else you can ask for from a boss? In the future I think those who know what you did for clans will look back at your reign and judge it a success. You will also get the credit/blame for CDF! If it becomes CLA v2.0 I know I am going to blame you! But, the verdict is still out on that group. We will have to see how it evolves.

Q. If you could have one update tomorrow, what would it be and why?

SITTING FEATURE! Personally, I have always been insulted that no one has ever call me out for an account sitting violation… they probably figure me playing the turns gives them an advantage! Can you imagine players thinking that you are SO GOOD that if you took all your team’s turns it would put them at a disadvantage? I guess no one wants to play FOUR CoFs! In all seriousness though, jpcloet (the primary reason we have a “clan world”) gave up his job over sitting issues. We just drafted a set of rules to cover sitting in clans so it is clearly still a front issue. Do I think it will ever happen? Nope. So given that there isn’t much chance of this update, perhaps we could just get our expanded clan medals so I can give TheCrown and the other past and current members of TNC a medal sometime. Some of them have at least 5-10 stored medals that the system won’t allow me to issue.

Q. When will you remove my (smegal69) Medal?

Never. Oh, and yes I can. With the click of a button.

Q. Should clan wars have a lot more smack talk in them, as it is a war and not some kind of hippie hugs fest?

Clan wars should be knockdown, smack-talk fests! That is, clan war THREADS should be peppered with all kinds of smack talk. The general clan forum, the join/create a clan forum, and most other threads that are not clan war related should be treated as normal threads. Now, I will say this, in my 2.5 years as a CD only ONE player has ever been “site punished” for something said, posted, or done in a clan war thread. Players hit that little upside-down triangle thingy all the time in clans. Those are always looked at, but never usually acted on. But again, there is only ONE I can think of that ever went higher than the CDs. My general rule is if it does not offend my version of the lowest form of human dignity (a very high bar) then the content is okay. However, just for instance mind you, a picture with a mammal stroking another mammal’s erect penis is a little bit much, but when you put a nametag on the stroker that corresponds to a current CC player…that crosses even my line! So make the war threads as hostile as you want, but follow two general rules (1) if what you put in there would make the average person gag, leave it out and (2) don’t mock the Moderators. Most likely, if we post in your war thread, someone has complained and so we are just trying cool things down for a bit. When the next post is a post quoting our post with a disrespectful comment…well, that is when clans lose medals…

Q. Ass or breast man?

Definitely breasts.

Q. How awesome was it when one player and his multies beat an entire clan?

Well, when we (++The Legion++) lost to you and your multies by 30 games it hurt pretty fucking bad! But still, pretty awesome.

Q. How have you managed to sustain your interest in CC?

Easy. I love my clan, ++The Legion++. If I were just logging on every day and taking turns with anonymous partners or as a loner in standard play games, I’m pretty sure I would have stopped playing years ago. But the camaraderie of my clanmates and the intensity of the rolls in meaningful clan games keep me coming back for more. [Or, if you prefer, the massive power trip I get from being a CD…muahahahahaha]

Q. What kind of attorney are you? I (danryan) imagine you chasing ambulances at top speed, desperately trying to finish your cc turns on your laptop between clients.

Hehe. I am primarily a trial attorney. But my areas of specialty are business and tax. So I do a lot of contract litigation and work in the United States Tax Court. However, back in the day before I became my own boss, I did chase an ambulance or two! These days though, our firm is pretty tech-heavy. So I have a Mac Mini at home attached to big television for a monitor. I have a similar set-up in my office. I also have a MacBook, Ipad, and Iphone. And, of course, everything that can load Firefox with BOB and clickable maps has it loaded! So I would say I am at or around a computer about 18 hours a day…and I play CC whenever I can. Hell, I have posted during a break in court before and I play a lot while I am defending depositions (Yawn)! My ambulance chasing days ended before I joined CC.

Q. What makes you want to continue when everyone gives you so much crap about the great service you do for CC?

Well, first, thank you for noticing (the great service, not the crap!) Honestly, I really don’t notice the crap anymore. You get so used to it that you just let it roll right by you. Also I often have to make sure to remind myself that it is just an online game where people roll imaginary attacker cubes! The main reason I continue is my clan. So the better environment I can curate for my clan, the better it will be for my clan. I feel that the clan world is better with me, than without me. Probably a bit egotistical, but I think overall this is the truth. At least, this is the thought that keeps me going during the dark times!

Q. What would be one thing you've done in your position you might wish to reconsider or do over how it was handled?

I’ve noodled this question for a while and I can’t think of any one big thing (or mistake) that I would reconsider. A lot of stuff has happened in 2.5 years. I think there have been some rocky transitions from time to time, but I think the clan world always got to where we envisioned it would (and should) go. Now, on a daily basis, I think that I have become a bit jaded with some players that I call “the usual posters” (the “ups” or “tups”). I wish there was a way to reset my relationship with (some of) these players and see if it is as bad as I really think it is. So I would say that if I were to reconsider anything it would be whether these players actually deserve the sharp side of my tongue every time they post. Additionally, I guess, I would have taken up CCup3 when chuuuuck went awol. I was just too busy in RL to do it correctly. In hindsight, it is clear that it would have avoided a lot of unpleasantness that followed had the CDs just done it from the jump. But, alas, Dako came in (and did a great job) and the rest is history.

Q. What do you think about leehar taking over the clan section?

Well, I hate the circumstances. But there is nothing we can do about it. I think Leehar will do and has been doing a great job as the Head CD. I’m looking forward to working with him for a long time.

Q. Were you offered the position first?

No. The Head CD position has never been offered to me.

Q. Are you pissed off because you do the main part of work issuing medals sorting out clan wars etc and were overlooked for the head cd after your long time service to that department?

I wouldn’t say, “overlooked”. I would say that when jpcloet left and when Masli left Admin made it clear that they wanted to promote from a high level within Team CC. Both Masli and Bruceswar had held positions within Team CC that granted them higher (more) access than I had. Also, Andy and I got along pretty well. So he politically (and correctly) mentioned to me that I am just a fucking lightning rod and they didn’t see it as a rational course of action to promote me. I didn’t disagree. When Bruceswar was “removed?” the CDs actually huddled on Skype and discussed what we thought we should do. Everyone asked everyone else if they wanted to be an option and I declined. We then decided that Leehar would be great and he was willing to take the position. Admin agreed, and there you go. So, “overlooked” is not really accurate in this situation. And no, I am not pissed off about anything with regards to my treatment in any of these situations. I have been lucky to work under great Head CDs and to work with a dedicated and talented group of people for 2.5 years. I have also been able to stay out of the crosshairs to some degree, which is a luxury the Head CD does not have.

Q. How much time do you spend on CC a day?

Well, I am able to play pretty much anytime due to my virtually unlimited access to a computer/tablet/phone. I would say that I actually spend 5-6 hours a day somewhat paying attention to CC. Whether it be playing my games, arranging games for my clan, or CD stuff (medals, moderating, etc.)

Q. Do you still have goals you'd like to reach?

I tried to get excited about medals. I did. But I just couldn’t. I hate freestyle and trench is an absolute abomination. So there are medals I have no intention of ever getting. I would like to see ++The Legion++ climb its way back into the top 10. I remember back in the day when we had a long string of clan war victories…man, that felt good! It would be nice to get back to that level.

Q. How do you think CC and clans will evolve within...2-3 years?

The CC one is hard to answer. I’m hoping there are never ads for paying customers. Other than that, there will be new maps, changes to old maps, new settings that we never even thought of, and on and on. Should be fun to watch CC evolve. The clans one is even harder to answer. I think we are going to see a lot more automation when it comes to privileges, medals, etc. Which should be really nice. I think clan wars will stay basically clan wars and I think the current League and CCup setup are here to stay. Oh, and maybe someday we will get our very own tab! Other than that, I really don’t see much happening in the short-term.

Q. How many clans do you foresee battling it out for clan dominance in 2-3 years?

As most of you know, I have fought hard to avoid any elitist tilt when it comes to the clan world. My biggest fear is that the top clans will just schedule clan wars between themselves from here to eternity. There is nothing any of us can do to stop them from doing it. And, it has come closer to happening than most people think. What would happen in this scenario is that in order to play the top clans, you would have to join one of the top clans to do so. This would create a power vacuum that would, in my opinion, kill clans on CC. Now, to your question, I don’t think there will ever be more than 50 (give or take a few) clans. The trend has been that some new clans fail, some old clans go social, some clans just grow huge, and some clans combine. But it seems like there is an imaginary barrier at around 50 that is going to be hard to reach. Not really sure how to explain it. As for how many will be fighting at the top, I think so long as we encourage parity and make events like the Clan League and CCup attractive to the top clans (giving lower ranked clans the chance at them) there will always be 5-10 clans that will be “top clans” and pretty much any clan in the top 20 or so of the F400 would have a decent hope of upsetting the top clan.

Q. What's your take on the casinos (owned by the same company) now decorating our state? Two weeks ago, I (The Voice) discovered, your's is right next to the gov't procurement offices, haha...figures.

Corruption and waste at its finest! I still haven’t been to the one in Columbus. I heard it has a pretty decent buffet. I’m not a huge fan of table games or slots. I love betting on events. When we go to Vegas, AC, or even Wheeling WV, all I do at the casino is drink and bet on the ponies. But, as you know, Ohio didn’t legalize all gambling so no betting on the fun stuff. We drove by the one in Toledo the other day on our way to Detroit. It looked nice. Out of place for sure. But nice.

Q. How old are you?

33

Q. Is there a story behind your username?If so, what is it?

Yes. I have a chemical engineering degree from The Ohio State University. The program is hell. So we were never home and spent most of our days in the labs. So our significant others used to joke that we were cheating on them with “Kimee” (a play on Chem. E.) So one day we discovered this really cool think called “hotmail” and we all made up clever nicknames to have as e-mail accounts. My friends and I chose chemefreak@hotmail.com as mine and I have been chemefreak ever since. I was hoping that people would call me “Freak” on CC, but alas, freakns had already cornered that market so everyone just calls me cheme.

Q. Do you like dinosaurs?

I do. I really like dinosaurs. My nephew loves them. I buy him these cheap little plastic dinosaurs everywhere I go and he just raves about them. It is pretty awesome.

Q. Does your CC boss like you or does he take you for granted?

I think the fact that I still have a job with my history speaks for itself.

Q. Do you still watch cartoons?

South Park and Family Guy. I think Anime sucks and Saturday morning rarely has any real cartoons anymore. So, I guess the answer is yes, but not very much.

Q. What super power do you dream of having?

I think invincibility with the ability to predict the future would be perfect.

Q. Your fighting style: drunken master or angry monkey?

Drunken master. That is the only time I would ever fight…drunk out of my mind.

Q. Have you ever been attacked by a wild animal?

I’ve been bit by spiders and stung by bees…do those count?

Q. Can you sleep with your closet door open?

No. I can’t. My suits on hangars look like people. They freak me out.

Q. Is it legal to travel down a road in reverse, as long as you're following the direction of the traffic?

Technically, yes. However, I guarantee you will get cited for unsafe driving or some other generic moving violation.

Q. Does anyone ever think to thank you after you have spent an afternoon issuing their medals?

Yes. I love issuing medals to the guys at TNC. I always get 2 or 3 thank yous. I would say about 1 in 10 thank me. However, if everyone replied to the pm that is generated when a medal is issued that would be a bit of a pain to respond to all of them! I’ve issued about 6000 to date.

Q. If you strangled a Smurf, what colour would it turn?

Well, I’m going to assume that the Smurf would eventually piss itself. So yellow and blue make green?

Q. How fast do hotcakes sell exactly?

Faster than coldcakes. Unless you are selling them in the desert.

Q. What is your greatest fear?

Catching on fire while boating and then right before I burn to death jumping in the water and then right before passing out as I am drowning getting eaten by a shark…not all at once, but piece by piece…bobbing up and down in a slick of my own blood as the shark nibbles at my burnt/oxygen deprived self.

Q. How old do you act?

My fiancée says that I act about 8.

Q. Why do you look up to me (ubcman64) as your hero?

Because you always insist on being on top…wait, what?

Q. Do you own a cape?

No, but I own an Ohio State snuggie…which is more of a robe, I guess.

Q. Have you ever tried on your wife's lingerie? ......and when you did, were you alone?

That would explain a lot wouldn’t it! However, I decline to answer this question on the grounds that the answer may tend to incriminate me.

Q. "Caddyshack," "Raising Arizona" or "O Brother, Where Art Thou"?

Caddyshack. That was way too easy.

Q. Will the SEC win another national championship next season or will someone else finally step up?

The next BCS national championship game will be Alabama vs Ohio State. Ohio State 31 Alabama 10. You can quote me.

Q. Jodi Arias... Death penalty? And, would you do her first? If yes, and just before the deed occurred, would you dump Jodi for Casey Anthony? (assume she could not exact revenge on you for dumping her like she did that other poor dude)

So many questions there! Death penalty, yes. College ChemE would definitely do her first (so dirty, how could you not?). Today ChemE would pass on that. Casey Anthony is a sick lady. I wouldn’t do her with your…

Q. If you were banished from the USA, what country would you move to?

Tough one. Probably Canada. I think it is the country that most reminds me of the good ole USA.

Q. Don't you hate it that the platinum medals still show up as bronze ones in the forums?

I hate it more that the usernames in the forum are exactly the same blue as our CD Moderator color.

Q. You obviously really enjoy the clan aspect of CC... but can you see any downside to the proliferation of clan participation on CC overall?

I really don’t see any downside. In my opinion, the clan world should have its own tab so that the average player can click on it easily and see the clan world. By and large, clan members are premium…that is actually required by many clans. So I think it is a win-win for the site. Also, as I mentioned previously, some players (like myself) are still around because of their clan. That being said, there will need to be a “friendly” landing pad for players to get a cordial introduction to the clan world after clicking on the tab. Right now, if you are a newer player, and you post in the “create/join a clan” thread, you will get berated by the usual posters. I mean skewered. These usual posters are not interested in the health of CC or the clan world; they are only interested in making themselves look big and important. If CC ever intends to use clans as a mechanism to encourage players to stick around, this will have to be dealt with.

Q. Do you think there are double standards in the rules on CC?

I believe you are asking if there are double standards on how the rules are applied to certain players. I think there is a double standard. Mouthy, inconsiderate, disrespectful assholes are dealt with more harshly than other players for the same offense. However, I am completely okay with this double standard.

Q. I (smegal69) know of several cases where one rule applies to some but not others, So should the rules be in black and white or should the Mods be able to choose when the rules apply?

I wish you had given some examples. I can’t speak for other sections of CC, but in clans it is nice to have some guidelines with a LOT of flexibility due to the complexity of the interworking of the clan world. I do not believe that Mods should be able to choose when rules do and don’t apply. However, I do believe that experienced Mods are in the best position to choose HOW they should be applied and to what extent.

Thanks SG5, that was fun. ++The Legion++ Rules!!!

Cheers,

ChemE

Seems like we're in peak season on the clan news front these days - we have a LOT to report on this edition! The Conquer Cup 4 drawings are completed and play-in matches are well underway - IcePack has the full report and offers his predictions and insights for the first round matches. Clan League 5 phase 1 is wrapping up and the makeup of the phase 2 divisions is starting to become clear, thanks to updated tables from qwert. This week the Platoon Report also has the exclusive scoop on a major shakeup in the F400 rankings!

As if all that isn't enough, we're excited to bring you the second part of The Voice's "What Keeps Your Clan Together?" interview with clan leaders, and an update on the Conquer Cup 3 finals from betiko - which we now know will have implications as to which team gets a bye in the first round of Conquer Cup 4. We also have a wrap-up of all the #GCCM Clan week fun that koontz provided for us last week.

I Now Pronounce You Player and ClanLoyalty to one clan fits well with keeping a clan together, but the means of establishing such a feeling toward a group that specializes playing team games on the interweb appears rather convoluted. Just as the institution of marriage attempts to bind people in a monogamous relationship, we have the 1 Clan Rule preventing players from “fooling around” with any other clan while they are spoken for.

So, players are stuck with one clan for all eternity? Well, no. Players, as we’re all well aware, can move from competitive clan to competitive clan freely. Some have flown many different banners in their CC careers, and with clans new and old actively looking for additions on a continuous basis, a player’s loyalty (or lack thereof) seems only to be an issue after he/she is recruited.

Mythology takes a more proactive approach to loyalty. “[Prioritizing loyalty when vetting potential recruits] is probably the main thing we strive for,” says Peanutsdad. “We want them to know before they ever join that if they’re going to be part of mythology, then give all to mythology, be mythology, or end up in the dungeon with the goat.”

Many clan leaders responded that maintaining an active clan forum helps establish and keep a more faithful gang. Others pointed to participating in clan events/wars as a must.

“I feel that we are a clan that desires a certain level of activity on the battlefield,” says IcePack, of The FALLEN. “It varies a little bit, but overall we are more active than most (perhaps other than TNC, OSA). We also like to do internal challenges, events within our clan that sometimes have premium prizes attached to them to help facilitate activity and keeping people interacting. Benga of One Step Ahead also notes that participating in intra-clan leagues, games, and various tournaments helps keep guys fighting under the same banner.

The Votes Are In

A democracy, or as Gunn217 eloquently puts it, an employee owned clan model where the big pigs don’t make heavy fisted decisions without the thoughts of all piglets, encourages participation and a greater sense of commitment.

“We do have jobs that we give out to many individuals, helps to keep moral up in that they are participating,” says Peanutsdad.

From QuikSilver of Les Hussards du Dragon, “We are a democracy and everybody can tell us what they want, like example enter a friend in the clan or having more games in clan wars. When they say they want a game in clan games we play against each other to test them, like little intern competition. It help to maintain a good ambiance.”

Loyalty Schmoyalty

One response I didn’t anticipate is that there isn’t always a need to incentivize loyalty so long as everything else is firing on all cylinders. Gunn217 of Pig Renters says, “To date, we've only lost one member to another clan and he only stayed for about a month. That's over 2 years of loyalty.”

Vid_FISO notes that loyalty isn’t something that has warranted any of the multiple choice options above. The competitive nature of FISO members drives them to battle as a unified clan.

“Beer helps a lot here.” - Benga

There’s something to be said about maintaining a good natured atmosphere, which ensures a more pleasurable clan experience. As QuickSilver notes, “We love to play together and mix up the teams. Sometime we only discuss strategy, but sometimes we pop out a joke and talk a lot about anything. Winning and losing happened, but a good ambiance is essential.”

We also bash all other clans constantly so our players are brainwashed into thinking we really are the only clan worth being a part of,” jokes Peanutsdad.

And of course, one of the biggest jokesters around, Freaks, has his “charming personality” to fall back on when leading Otpisani. (He clarified that he’s not actually charming at all, but we all know he is a charmer.)

Once the three winners are named, they will enter the Round of 32 Bracket against their new Top 16 opponents!

Round of 32

*Recently we found out that PACK would have to withdraw from CC4, which left the door open for TFFS to enter the Top 16 seeded side of the bracket. The winner of the CC3 Finals (TOFU vs AFOS) will receive a well deserved bye to savor the victory bubbly - while the other will have 2 weeks to ready itself for war - again!

On May 11th, the CD team drew the remaining match up's which are reflected in the above bracket and listed below for you from left to right.

Left Side of BracketOut of the two bracket sides, the left side is probably viewed as (slightly) weaker side of the bracket due to the introduction of a random element into the seeding by randomized draw.

KORT, TSM, IA, OSA, OTP are Top 10 contenders on this side of the bracket.

KORT vs AKA: IcePack Predicts - KORT AdvancesKORT is a long standing favorite to win any war, and this one is no exception. While KORT and AKA have never faced each other, they've wasted no time in creating a thread to talk smack before it kicks off!

TFFS vs VVV: IcePack Predicts - TFFS AdvancesTFFS is sometimes an underrated clan, while VVV is new to the clan scene making their first CC Event appearance. While VVV has some experienced players behind it, TFFS should come out of this the winner unless VVV can quickly find its footing. These two clans have never faced each other.

OTP vs LHDD: IcePack Predicts - OTP AdvancesOTP is the favored clan in this match up. Led by freakns and finsfleet they face a clan whom did very well when new on the clan scene within the Newcomers Cup arena, but has slowly slipped down the rankings since. OTP and LHDD have never faced each other.

OSA vs SOH: IcePack Predicts - OSA AdvancesIf history is the judge, OSA will advance in this upcoming match up. They've faced each other twice in 2012, with OSA winning both: 9-3 & 23-20 respectively. OSA has recently pushed hard and earned itself a Top 10 position, and seems to be en route to stay there for the foreseeable future.

TSM vs LOTZ: IcePack Predicts - TSM AdvancesThe Monkies should have no problem during this match up, bar any serious monkey business. It will be interesting to watch to see how LOTZ does performance wise, to see just how far they can push the monkies, luring them into traps with bananas are highly suggested. These two clans have never faced each other.

MYTH vs TLW: IcePack Predicts - MYTH AdvancesThese two clans met way back in 2009 - with MYTH taking the victory 11-9. TLW will get its long awaited revenge here and will need to work hard. With a little luck, anything is possible.

MM will face winner of WAR/KNT Play in: IcePack Predicts - WAR Wins Play In; MM Advances MM gets a short break while WAR / KNT decide who will face them. Either way, I believe once their opponent is decided MM will walk away with a victory here. WAR will be a good opponent and a fun war to watch, but MM should have what it takes to come out on top.

IA vs LEG: IcePack Predicts - IA AdvancesThese two clans have only ever met once before, back in 2010. IA came out ahead 11-5 in that match up. LEG recently secured two previous PACK players, and might possibly give IA a run for their money. I don't think it will be enough in the end, and I'm predicting IA will advance comfortably.

Right Side of BracketThis side of the bracket is probably the more "exciting" of the two, with a number of clans leaving questions as to who will advance.

TOFU, AFOS, ID, FALL, PIG, and LOW are top contenders on this side of the bracket. In addition, ACE and ATL will bring top level competition to some (un)lucky opponents in the Round of 32.

TOFU...: IcePack Predicts - TOFU AdvancesIf TOFU wins CC3, it will get a bye this round. If not, it will play the winner of HH/AQOH play in round. Either way, TOFU should have no trouble with a bye or advancing vs their planned opponents as the new #1 ranked clan on CC.

GR vs DYN: IcePack Predicts - DYN AdvancesBack in 2010 - Dynasty's first war in the clan world was against the Grim Reapers; who happened to beat DYN 25-15. Dynasty now has a chance to exact some revenge against the Reapers for their first ever loss. This should prove to be a really close match up, and both of them could walk away with a win to advance to the next round.

PIG faces winner of RA/DB Play In: IcePack Predicts - RA Wins Play In; PIG AdvancesPIG will have to wait until the play in between RA/DB has been decided. But once that war has a winner, PIG will make a splash in the pig pen and muck up the competition. RA did fairly well in CL5, so if the stars align and the Attacker's focus on acquiring additional bacon - there could potentially be an upset.

FALL vs ATL: IcePack Predicts - FALL AdvancesOne of the more interesting draws of the Round of 32, newer clan Fallen faces newly minted Atlantis. Atlantis has very strong members since its formation, and has a few wars partially completed to give itself some experience before CC4 starts. This will be one to watch as I predict a close finish.

AFOS...: IcePack Predicts - AFOS AdvancesIf AFOS wins CC3, it will get a bye this round. If not, it will play the winner of HH/AQOH play in round. Either way, AFOS should have no trouble with a bye or advancing vs their planned opponents as one of the top 3 ranked clans on CC.

TNC vs ACE: IcePack Predicts: ACE AdvancesTNC is a clan that seems to be underrated often enough, but recently has upended Fallen and the Pack - both strong Top 10 clans. ACE is the newly formed merger of Agents of Chaos (AOC) and Empire (EMP), two very strong top 10 clans until recently. With very little time for team practice or to get a war under their belt, and with TNC on a hot streak vs some strong competition - this should prove to be a very exciting war for spectators. It can go either way, but I'll say ACE takes the "upset".

LOW vs YNWA: IcePack Predicts - LOW AdvancesOld meets new, as LOW is one of the oldest clans around. It has a long and very strong history, while YNWA is one of the newest clans and has struggled in its start with a 0-3 record. In the end, LOW should be able to walk away, alone, and unscathed to its next match up. Look for LOW to win big.

ID vs MB: IcePack Predicts - ID AdvancesMB will face off with ID for the first time. Their swords better be sharpened, because I think it will take a miracle for MB to pass ID into the Round of 16. A unlucky draw for their clan for sure. Look for ID to win big.

Hear me now!Batch 2 games started earlier last week! The official score has now moved from an official 3-3 in the last dispatch issue to a 10-6 advantage for TOFU. But as you might know if you had read the last issue, TOFU seemed to have quite an advantage on ongoing games from batch 1, so no surprise there. Predictions were moving between 14-6 and 12-8 for them. So how have things moved since our last update? let's try to put those fog goggles back on!

As batch 2 started less than a week ago, it is very hard to make any prediction at this point. AFOS knows they have a handicap to catch up from batch 1 and really need to do slightly better than TOFU in this batch 2 before the final games of batch 3 start to avoid being left behind. We will definitely be able to see a lot clearer!

What about you follow conquerors, what is your final score prediction for this war?

Challenge one.With only two games to finish, a four man final has been set up, which you can follow along with here: Game 12751590.

SaMejoHn from AFOS (3 wins out of 4 games, one game not entered into by opponent)Swifte from The Immortal Assassins (4 wins out of 5 games)ViperOverLord from Manifest Destiny (4 wins out of 5 games)TheCrown from The New Crusade (4 wins out of 5 games)

Hello again my friends, and welcome to your favorite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments!

Only 5 weeks now until the last TPA3 tournament is launched, and I have been given the honour of launching it! So stay tuned for just a little longer... As the excitement builds, DaveH has renamed TPA Wrap to TPA3 Wrap (although TPA2 results will continue to be covered.) And we have our other regular features as well....

In one of my recent tournaments I have teams of three playing a combination of singles doubles and triples. With different players winning, I needed a way of linking the wins back to the team. The same type of issue arose in a tournament of doubles in which I am using "Tour Stats" for the results. In this I need to order the players in team order rather than alphabetical player order.

One solution is to have two lookup tables. One has the teams with a reference number and the other is the alphabetical list of players names with the team reference number. i.e.As a reminder on using VLookup, the process is to copy the table of 4 columns and, in Excel, select Insert/Name/Define and type in the name to be used; in this case "Teams" (note that the area selected is defined in the bottom window).

The next table is the alphabetical list of all the players with their team number in the next column. i.e.Same procedure, naming this table "Players". Now, if I have a winning player, or from the Tour Stats data a list of players, I can get the team names from the player's names by using the function VLookup(Player_Name_Cell, Players, 2, false) and then, from this team number, the captain of the team or all three or two players using VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 2, false) for the first player's name; VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 3, false) for the second and VLookup(above_cell, Teams, 4, false) for the third.

(These "tips" started off as ones that I used to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. Now, I am looking at other types of tournaments and scoring systems by all you innovative TO's out there. So, if you have a unique scoring system that you would like me to have a go at automating, please let me know and I'll be pleased to try and assist. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to of course. Please note that I use Excel 2003, so there may be variation in the menu instructions if you have other versions of Excel)

Benga's Major Escalating Fog: Killer Team tournament has silversun6, benga and jug68 as joint winners, but the minor placements have yet to be decided, so the TPA2 standings cannot yet be updated. Being a major though, the points for first place should lift a couple of the winners into the top ten at least!

TPA 2 Standings

TPA Season 3No additional tournaments have finished. Tournaments for signup include my Conquer Club Poker Tournament which recreates crazymilkshake's CCSOP tournament from TPA2. Also Silly Knig-It has posted his novel Epsilon Ski Race tournament in which rounds represent seconds; rapid game completion is the aim, but if you are losing you need to slow your opponent down. Greenoak's USA At War tournament hosts 11 USA maps and you have two chances of getting through them! To continue the USA theme, mcshanester has his MC's Fight for the USA - Dubs Style tournament, but with doubles.

Thank you to everyone who came forward to add tournaments to the TPA3 schedule - we are now full!

And now for our regular look at a selection of the tournaments in sign-ups! It feels rather strange while I'm scrolling through the Create/Join a Tournament forum, as the number of forum threads aren't enough to make 2 pages in the forum! But nevertheless, there are still a good number of fine tournaments taking sign ups, so let's take a look at some of them.

A tournament for the elite crowd, this tournament is only available to players who have won a 1v1 tournament previously. As such, you can be pretty much assured that it'll be a closely fought tournament. As one can probably deduce from the title, this tournament pits champions against each other in a battle to prove that they are indeed the masters of the settings on which they won their 1v1 tournament. Players will have to win on their home map to stay in the tournament, and defeat their opponents on away maps to take out the competition. Perhaps somewhat reminiscent of the 75th Hunger Games, also known as the third Quarter Quell, champions will definitely see bloodshed in this tournament.

Taking place on one of the earliest and most popular conquest gameplay maps, this tournament pits lovers of this map against each other as they battle for the recognition of being the feudal overlord in CC. The tournament caters to a number of game settings, and you're bound to find at least one that suits your liking (that is, if you like the map in the first place). Winners will have to win no small amount of games to get to the end of the tournament, so getting to the end won't just be a matter of luck.

If you're looking to experience all of the 200+ maps CC has to offer, but aren't quite sure where to start, then this tournament might be the place for you. Taking place solely on Random maps, you're bound to experience a large variety of maps, regardless of how far you make it into the competition. With each round consisting of 15 games, it is sure to be a chaotic but altogether exciting tournament, with the freestyle gameplay adding further confusion to the already unpredictable tournament.

Finally, in conjunction with the Great Community Map Project event, a series of fast and furious tournaments have been running, and will be continuing regularly in the near future. So do keep a look out for these tournaments!

If you're craving tourney action now, check out the Requests for Immediate Players section of the tournament forum. You can be playing very quickly after signing up as a reserve.

If you would like your tournament to be featured in the next edition of the CC Newsletter, please PM anamainiacks with the details of your tournament.

The Great Conquer Community Map (#GCCM) has run its course. After this weeks poll has ended, the real work begins for those of you up to the challenge.

Can any of you make the next great Classic map?

So next Monday, lookout for the start of the competition.

So what do we have for you this week. Well, not a lot really. We have two new maps waiting for live play Tribal War Israel and 4 Star Meats. Both should be with us any day now. Speaking of any day now, Labyrinth only has one live game left. Then we can all play it again.

It has been a blast writing for you all over the last 50 issues, but it is time I said goodbye. Seamus76 is taking over for me next issue so be nice to him betiko over the competitions.

A year ago, koontz1973 made Knights for you all to play on. A simple twist on chess for you all with a 2 player mode to boot before two player games were around. Well, all through the original thread, players kept asking for a bigger version for larger games to be made. Well, it is about time koontz did that.

Our baby is growing up so quickly, and after almost 8 weeks the Gameplay Phase of the Great Community Map Project is coming to an end. With only 8 days left until we get into the real meat of the map, Graphics, let's do a quick recap. So far we have a Medium sized Fantasy map, based on a Battle, between 35-65 terts, with Classic Gameplay, and the votes from Week 6 add in Classic Continental Bonuses. Wow, this is turning out to be a great map, and again we haven't even started the Graphics yet.

Current Poll results are below and there is still plenty of time and ways to get involved, win medals and show your support.

Results from Poll 1:

Map based on fantasy 97 votes 55%

Map based on real place 79 votes 45%

Results from Poll 2:

Small map - Less than 35 regions 92 votes 13%

Medium map - 35-65 region count 318 votes 44%

Large map - 66-99 region maps 305 votes 43%

Results from Poll 3:

Classic Game Play 69 votes 63%

Conquest Game Play 40 votes 37%

Results from Poll 4:

Map of a WORLD 36 votes 34%

Map of a CONTINENT 18 votes 17%

Map of a COUNTRY 16 votes 15%

Map of a BATTLE 37 votes 35%

Results from Poll 5:

High Fantasy / Epic Fantasy 28 votes 32%

Low Fantasy 3 votes 3

Historical Fantasy 24 votes 28%

Dark Fantasy 9 votes 10%

Contemporary Fantasy 5 votes 6%

Science Fantasy 18 votes 21%

Results from Poll 6:

Continental (Classic map) 44 votes 40%

Resource (Age of Realms) 16 votes 15%

Continental with key (Supermax Prison Riot) 38 votes 35%

Expanding (Antarctica) 37 votes 35%

No bonuses 3 votes 3%

There's still time to grab a couple of easy medals. Use the codes below, post your thoughts, and as always if Koontz1973 randomly comes across your show of support he'll toss a shiny medal your way.

The last Gameplay Poll is up and ready for voting (pick up to two options you like), and the twisted Competition, Anagrams, will hurt your head so take a look if you dare. Be sure to make your voice known, and as always have some fun.

Things to be on the look out for:The last poll is up and ready for voting.Clan Week results.Official GCCM Tournaments, when available, can be found in the offical CC tournament thread.

Even though this is the last week of #GCCM there is still time to get your posts in and show your support to have a shot at the end of the month to receive the "grand" prize GC medal and 500 conquer credits. This medal will be called The Patrons Medal, and to win this, all you need to do is post in the thread why you voted the way you did, and generally participate within the thread as much as you can during these last 8 days.

Like us on Facebook, follow @ConquerClub on Twitter and be sure to look out for the #JustForFun hash tag which will announce special games and event information.